Gears of War: The other side
by Prolific Egg24
Summary: There is no need to summarize. Oh! Tell me who your favor


Imma Noob so please do not judge me

Chapter 1

The unspeakable pain consumed the wounded body of Private Zaach, a lowly, unimportant Locust Grunt. All he could do was limp forward, down the hell stricken streets of the city. Blood slowly leaked from his mouth, his Hammerburst dangled from his arm and his left eye twitched as the wind blew against the bruise he had gotten. Zaach did everything he could to hold the pain in, if there was one thing that drone's were taught, it was to never show pain or fear, but it was getting harder and harder for Zaach to follow that rule. The buildings around him were consumed by the very fires of hell, falling apart brick by brick and igniting into flames when they hit the floor. The rot flies swarmed around the dead bodies that lay scattered across the streets, some of them were humans, but a vast majority were Zaach's comrades. The rot flies also began to buzz around Zaach himself, he wasn't dead yet, but they knew he would fall soon. All Zaach could remember was being ordered by Theron Guard Sidorax to charge towards the enemy… the vile ground walkers known only as "The Cogs" Bullets scattered from each side, drones collapsed as they ran head first into the line of fire, but not Zaach, he stood back and provided covering fire with his hammerburst, but the sheer intensity of combat threw his accuracy off balance, he was unable to down a single Cog soldier…. …Then it happened… An Earthquake like no other, a tremendous force so powerful that it nearly sent everyone into the sky. Zaach and the platoon had been standing right on top of one of the hollow's many tunnels, the light mass bomb, the so called "Death bringer" had been detonated. The powerful tremors had sent earthquakes all over the planet, destroying the tunnels and causing horrific damage on the surface, for the cogs, this was a mere price to pay for victory, for the locust, it seemed like a holocaust. His Home, his friends, his family, his hope, all destroyed in a matter of seconds… Zaach could only reach a statue of the Cog's leader, known only as "Prescott" standing tall and proud before him, when he saw this figure of evil, he couldn't stand it any longer, he collapsed to his knees and vomited, it was a vile mix of stomach acid and blood. His body was going numb and his vision was slowly fading, it looked to be the end of the line for him, sure enough, he collapsed onto the cold streets of the damned city. Everything went dark, he could no longer feel his arms and legs, yet he could still feel his hearts beating, desperately trying to keep him alive. Then he felt something strange, he was moving? Impossible, his arms and legs had gone completely numb, he was almost certain they were broken, yet he could still feel his body being dragged across the cold stone ground he lay on. Zaach used the last of his strength to open his eyes. His vision wasn't perfect, but he could just make out a figure, dragging him away, it looked like a Theron guard! Had Sidorax survived? Was he taking Zaach to safety, or to re-group and counter attack the Cogs? The Figure stopped for a second and look directly at Zaach, then kneeled down at him. "Your alive!" The figure said in a low, grizzled voice "The queen must be watching over you, she must want you alive" Zaach was in too much pain to speak, he slowly nodded his head. "Well thank the queen! You don't want to know what I would've done to keep you alive!" The figure replied. Zaach's eyes closed again, he was able to breath slowly and keep his hearts at a steady beat, as the figure dragged him away…

What suspense! huh?

Chapter 2

The sky had now turned a much darker shade of grey and the wind was beginning to pick up. The sounds of thunder could be heard in the distance, apparently, this was to signal a storm was approaching. Yet another thing these Locust survivors had to deal with. Zaach looked up to at the sky for a few seconds, obviously curious about the storm. The thunder claps sounded fairly far away, so they had a fair amount of time to retreat to the cave. Zaach then walked over to the various shacks constructed by the Locust, while the Reaver followed. Hakar and Onwa, meanwhile, went over to where the Kantus monk Brother Markon had headed. All around them, they could see the survivors weren't exactly in a healthy state. They consisted of mostly drones and grenadier types, maybe the odd Theron or two. The drones were either sitting on the ground, moping, or they stood up, shivering because of the cold. Hakar spotted one or two drones huddled around a make shift fire, trying to keep warm. Just then, some kind of Weasel like creature emerged from a burrow in the ground, it looked around, curious about it's surroundings, when suddenly, a Beast Rider grabbed it by the throat. "MINE!" He growled. That didn't go unchallenged, as suddenly, a Grenadier Elite grabbed the Weasel also, letting out a snarl, both Locust began to wrestle for the meal. It was only a brief fight, as the Grenadier bashed the Beast Rider in the face and took the weasel. He didn't get his prize, as Onwa smacked the back of his head and gave the meal back to the Beast Rider, who, in all fairness, saw it first. "Pathetic!" He growled. "To think you were once soldiers of The Horde! Now look at you, fighting over a measly meal like wretches." Onwa left the two Locust to wallow in their shame, so that he could catch up with Hakar, who had stopped outside a particular shack. It was surprisingly well built, compared to the "Makeshift" efforts of the others, the trinity of worms hung above the entrance. "Isn't this Priest Quaar's… ahem… home?" Onwa asked. "I just need to see how he's doing." Hakar replied. Suddenly, Brother Markon himself stepped out of the home and was caught by surprise at the sight of the two Soul Killers in front of him. "Not like you to come here." Markon huffed. "Is Quaar okay?" Hakar asked. "I just came to see how he's doing." "That's a coincidence." Markon pointed out. "He wants to see you, I was just about to come and find you." Hakar shrugged and entered, while Onwa stood outside. The inside was surprisingly well decorated, pictures and scrolls of the Kantus dialect were put up on the walls, while a few precious ornaments resides in the corners. In the middle of the room, sitting in a makeshift chair, was one Priest Quaar. Quaar was an elderly Kantus, possibly the oldest Kantus alive, but he was so full of wisdom and knowledge that even other Kantus came to him for advice, making him one of the most respectable figures of the sect, even in the eyes of Skorge, the former high priest. One thing that was said about Quaar was that he could read the future, as he had taken "The Water of T'Chark" water passed down from the supreme Worm goddess, and anyone who took it would be granted intelligence and second sight. It took a few moments, but Quaar looked up to see Hakar, kneeling down before him. "Son of RAAM." Quaar wheezed. "Is it you?" "Yes." Hakar replied. "I just wanted to see if you were okay." Hakar suddenly heard a disrespectful grunt from behind him, he looked to see Brother Markon with a sarcastic scowl on his face, Markon didn't believe a word of it. "This world is strange to me… but I will survive." Quaar explained. "So long as you keep me alive, keep me safe from the humans and the dark ones." Dark Ones… The Lambent. "I've made it the duty of The Soul Killers to protect each and everyone of you." Hakar replied. Quaar appeared to nod. "I helped your Father when he faced the Dark ones… now I wish to help you through these times." Quaar announced. Hakar looked and saw Brother Markon nod, though still with the scowl on his face. Quaar grabbed hold of Hakar's right hand and began to concentrate, he made a low, chanting noise and closed his eyes very tightly. "I see you and your soldiers… the Rank of Soul Killer… I see how you have survived many dangers." Quaar chanted. "I see the blood of Humans as you slaughter them in the hundreds… how that very bloodshed gives the Horde a reason to keep fighting." "Barbarians." Markon growled under his breath. "Your soldiers are the best, the Elite of The Queen… you have beaten the odds, but…" Quaar was going to announce, but he suddenly stopped, he opened his eyes and saw that Hakar had a look of eagerness on him. "Beware!" Quaar exclaimed. "I see an enemy… a human, working for those they call 'The Cog.' You stopped him once… stopped him from making Demons… but take heed! He plans revenge!" The Demons… The Saviour Soldiers. The humans attempt to create super soldiers, Hakar and The Soul Killers managed to kill all the prototypes before they could be unleashed onto Sera. "Also… I see a Dark One… a creature like no other." Quaar added. "Some kind of abomination, it is sworn to destroy all of us!" Hakar was going to speak up, when suddenly, Quaar's face turned to a look of worry. "I see… I see that young Soul Killer… the one you call Zaach!" Quaar announced. "You must protect him! Do not allow him to be caught by danger!" "Zaach? Why? What will happen?!" Hakar demanded, but Quaar suddenly began to tire. "I cannot say… I cannot see…" "What do you mean?!" Hakar snarled. "Do not talk to Quaar in such a manner, animal!" Markon snapped. That seemed to put Hakar back down. "Just… just promise me you will keep Zaach safe." Quaar wheezed. "I will…" Hakar replied. He was eager to know why Zaach was special, what was going to happen to him? But, Quaar said he couldn't see or say why, for now, Hakar had to respect that. "That… that is all I could see." Quaar sighed, almost falling asleep. "Take care, Son of RAAM… and watch over Zaach." Hakar watched as Quaar fell asleep in his chair, he nodded in respect to the priest, but now a paranoid fear was working it's way into his brain, what would happen to Zaach? "Let Quaar rest now, you are no longer needed here." Markon growled. Hakar let out a growl of his own and left. - Zaach was milling around the shacks, watching what used to be soldiers of the Horde trying to survive, they occasionally looked up to acknowledge Zaach, who nodded back in return. Just as Zaach was about to move on, he felt something push him from behind, he turned around to see the Reaver, making some kind of whining noise. Zaach tried to move, but the Reaver pushed him again, letting it's tongue roll out. "Okay, okay." Zaach sighed. That seemed to perk the Reaver up. Zaach lead the Reaver to a particular stand where a blood stained Grenadier and a Butcher were chopping up parts… human parts to be precise. Ever since they had moved here, Hakar and Onwa seemed to occasionally "Collect" dead Cog soldiers or stranded so that they could be cut up and eaten by the Reavers, who weren't too fussed about what was put in front of them. Already waiting was the second Soul Killer Reaver, much like the other, but bigger and more muscular, this Reaver was bred to support the size of Soul Killer Braahk. This was also the one Zaach had to fly, he'd been taught by Onwa. "He's hungry to." Zaach said jokingly, pointing to the excited Reaver behind him. "This should fill both of them up." The Grenadier chortled. "Onwa assures us that this is all fresh." The Butcher appeared to grunt in agreement. Both Locust then poured the parts into a makeshift trough, the moment they stepped back, both Reavers got stuck in, excess blood and bits splattered around as they munched on the food. Zaach held his arm to his face as bits went everywhere. At one point, both Reavers appeared to have picked up the same arm, though the bigger Reaver let go, it seemed as though he felt his smaller "Sibling" needed it more. Zaach smiled as the two Reavers ate away. "Is it true? You come back?" Boomed a loud voice. Zaach recognized it immediately, he turned around to see Soul Killer Braahk right behind him. Braahk was an interesting addition because he was a Grinder, enlisted for The Soul Killers heavier missions to act as heavy support. He donned the usual Grinder Gear, though his armour covered his stomach more, he had also painted what looked like a crudely drawn Skull with an evil grin on his shoulders. "Zaach! You back!" Braahk cheered. He then picked up Zaach and gave him one big bear hug, squeezing Zaach as tightly as he could. "No Humans beat you! You like me! We crush them all! Good times!" Braahk yelled happily. While Zaach squirmed and was struggling to breath, he almost felt his eyes pop out of their sockets. "Good… to see.. You… Braahk!" Zaach gasped, the big Grinder dropped Zaach, letting him catch his breath again. "I hope boss send me on mission soon!" Braahk boomed. "I kill human insects no problem!" That was Braahk's trait, he had a child like enthusiasm about his rank, treating his own Mulcher like a loved one and praising it for every enemy it killed. Some called him a "Big, Loveable Killing Machine" which summed up Braahk perfectly. "You'll get your chance." Zaach smirked, still rubbing his chest. "Mulcher need exercise!" Braahk added. "She need get used to fighting again!" "In good time." Zaach replied. Braahk appeared to nod in agreement and stroll off elsewhere. He could tell that Braahk was itching for a good fight, though knowing their luck, that would be soon. Zaach saw one shack in particular and decided to go inside. - In the shack was an impressive collection of human technology, all scavenged from the ruins of battlefields, abandoned cities and so forth. As well as Weapons from both sides. There was also a collection of first aid kits, medical supplies and tools all placed on makeshift desks. At one desk sat Soul Killer Sauvix, the team's medic and surface world expert. Zaach remembered when he first met Sauvix, the two of them didn't exactly get off on the right foot. Sauvix thought Zaach was another "Rookie" Soul Killer that would screw up and get them all killed. Zaach, however, proved himself and slowly began to earn Sauvix's trust. Now a days, the two had managed to spark up some kind of friendship. Sauvix sat down, polishing his choice of weapon, the Scorcher flamethrower. "How are you holding up?" Zaach asked. Sauvix looked up at him. "Just trying to survive." Sauvix hissed. "This isn't exactly the most habitable area of Sera." Zaach looked at Sauvix rather awkwardly, if there was one thing Sauvix was known for, it was his sarcasm and bitterness. From E-Day itself, he never supported the war against the humans, saying it was just even more pointless bloodshed, this apparently labelled him a "Coward" and had him sentenced to life imprisonment. Hakar offered him freedom in exchange for helping The Soul Killers, seeing them as a chance for survival, Sauvix joined them. Though all that time in prison seemed to give him a sceptical view on The Queen and The Horde. "Personally, I think we were just fine in our headquarters." Sauvix barked, referring to a derelict prison on the surface which acted as The Soul Killers surface based HQ. "Here, we're just sitting targets." "Isn't Markon to blame, not Hakar?" Zaach asked. "True, but Hakar is a fool thinking he can protect them." Sauvix snapped. Zaach decided not to press the matter any further. "Where's Taus?" He asked. "Probably sitting outside." Sauvix replied. "You don't think he's sad about Torgr?" That comment made Sauvix stop polishing his Scorcher and put it aside. "I've already told Taus I won't lie to him, I never liked Torgr." He hissed. "He was a weakling, a whiner and, let's face it, spineless." Sauvix let out a deep sigh before continuing. "Yet, what bothers me is that in some strange, perverse way, I do miss him." "No Neophyte to bully?" Zaach asked sarcastically. Sauvix let out a grunt, Zaach could see he wasn't in the mood for talking anymore and decided to leave. - Sure enough, sitting by the entrance to the mountain's cave, was Soul Killer Taus. The team's sniper and scout. Taus was a mostly silent type, speaking only when spoken to, when he did speak, he spoke in a hushed, whispery tone. Other than that, he was mostly calm and laid back. He had a bandage around his neck, this was a war wound from The Soul Killers battle against "Project Saviour" where he suffered a bullet wound to his neck, he almost died, but Sauvix saved him. Taus refused to take the bandage off, as he saw it as a reminder to never let your guard down. Taus had been off lately, as he had lost Torgr, the "Neophyte" of the team. Torgr was a young drone that Taus had requested to train himself, Taus taught him all his skills. Even though the young Neophyte wasn't exactly the bravest drone in the hollow, Taus kept at it, believing he could get Torgr out his shell. Alas, Torgr was killed by a Lambent spy, Zaach was there when it happened and had to deliver the news to Taus himself. It was bad, although he didn't show it, Zaach could tell that Taus felt Torgr's death was his fault, as he constantly wanted the Neophyte to get some "battlefield experience" by fighting in a live fire fight. Zaach slowly approached Taus, who appeared to be starring into space. "Taus?" He asked. Taus turned around and saw Zaach, he managed to perk up his signature smile. "Ah Zaach, back again?" "It was just a Cog scouting party, no threat." Zaach reported. "Good good." Taus said, he then appeared to go back into his daydreaming state. Zaach gently tapped Taus on the shoulder to waken him up. "How are you doing friend?" Zaach asked. "I won't let his death get to me." Taus sighed. "Though I shall not let his attackers go free." Taus then picked his Longshot Sniper rifle up off the ground and showed Zaach that on one side of it, he had written Torgr's name. "I know the Lambent still roam… everyone of them I kill, it shall be in his name." Taus explained. "Continue his legacy?" "Indeed, he was no longer a Neophyte at his death… he was truly one of us." Taus added. Suddenly, a loud thunder clap caught the attention of everyone. Taus got up and sniffed the air, he could sense any kind of danger if it approached. "Storm's coming." He announced. The Locust all got together and retreated into the cave, it would shelter them better from the downpour that approached.

Do you love it?

Chapter 3

Landown was now completely dead, the only sounds that could be heard was the occasional clap of thunder from the approaching storm and the gusts of wind. It was once a peaceful, beautiful place, but the Locust had taken it over during the winter of sorrow, reducing it to a ghost town. In the town centre, doors creaked as they almost fell off their hinges, the wind blew away broken pieces of glass as they lay scattered around the windows they had come from, while the few patches of snow on the ground melted away, as the first drops of rain began. Suddenly, a sign of life. A mouse crawled out from under the floor of a nearby house and ran outside, it sniffed the air, curious as to it's surroundings. The mouse then noticed that a shadow suddenly covered it, startled, the mouse looked up to see the sole of a giant boot, bearing down on it. "Smash!" All that was left of the mouse was a bloody mess, as the Lambent warrior Rampage lifted his boot up to see the blood and guts of the small creature on his sole. He scraped the remains off and began to "Sniff" the air. Behind him, his comrade Slicer rested against the door frame of an abandoned house. "They have defiantly been here." Rampage pondered. "Their presence still hangs in the air." "How can you be so sure?" Slicer demanded. "Ve don't even know if any Locust survived, let only ze Soul Killers!" The rain then began to get stronger, pounding heavily on the roof's of the buildings and on the ground, Slicer put his hands just above his helmet, even though the helmet was keeping the rain off his head. "Agh! Sky vater?!" He barked. Slicer then noticed that Rampage was continuing on without him. Still determined that The Soul Killers were on the surface somewhere. Slicer sighed as he began to chase after his comrade. The two Lambent had to push their arms forward as the rain was starting to get heavier, almost coating their vision in a dark green colour, making it harder to see. A sudden flash of lightning and a loud clap of thunder caught Slicer off guard, he lost balance and fell backwards into a small puddle behind him. Rampage turned to see his angry and rather wet comrade, a look of great restraint of his face. "I hate zis accursed rock." Slicer said through his gritted teeth. "Stop wasting time!" Rampage boomed, picking Slicer up. "We have a mission to complete!" "Ve can't see a zing out here!" Slicer protested. "Zis sky vater isn't making zis any easier!" "Huh… very well!" Rampage growled. The Lambent warrior then spotted a fairly large building only a few feet away, he approached the building and then ripped the doors right off their hinge's. Slicer followed immediately. The interior of the building suggested that this was once a "Tavern" a place where humans would go to eat, drink and have a good time. There was everything around, chairs, tables, bar stools, motivational "Join the Cog!" posters on the walls, a pool table and a jukebox. The place had probably seen better days, as cobwebs were everywhere and most of the windows had been boarded up. The rain heavily beating on the tavern roof could still be heard. "Bah." Rampage huffed, not impressed with the human tech, while Slicer wasn't really paying attention, he just shook himself dry. Even though without the door on it's hinges, the odd splash of rain from outside still caught him. Rampage, still scowling at all the human stuff, suddenly swung round to see behind the bar counter was a large painting of a Cog soldier down on his knees, a look of drunken happiness on his face as he held up a bottle of beer. Underneath the painting was some text that said… "DOWN BUT NOT OUT!" Rampage roared as he smashed the counter and then grabbed the painting, splitting it in half. "Filthy human propaganda!" He snarled. "The Overseers are the true rulers of this world!" Slicer just starred at him, a blank look on his face. "Satisfied?" Rampage asked. "We will shelter here until the sky water passes. Then we will continue our search." "Assuming zhey are still out zhere…" Slicer sighed. "The masters do not lie!" Rampage growled, his fist shaking in anger. "The Soul Killers still dare to live! We have been given the honour of destroying them!" Slicer grabbed the sides of his helmet and pulled them down, obviously frustrated with the fanatical babbling of his comrade. "Even if zhey vere alive, how do ve even know zhey are here?!" He snapped. "Ze surface vorld is much larger zhan it looks! For all ve know, zhey could be on ze other side of it!" "You simply lack faith." Rampage barked. "We will destroy The Soul Killers and other Locust that dare to side with them! That will leave only the humans, who shall be cleansed!" "Oh, spare me your fanaticism, just for one minute!" Slicer sighed. Rampage was then going to say something, when suddenly, the Imulsion running through his veins began to flare up, glowing brightly, Rampage then clenched his head and knelt down, Slicer looked to see that Rampage appeared to be in pain. "Vhat? Vhat is wrong?!" Slicer shouted. Rampage could only let out several groans as he then fell onto his side, the Imulsion glowing brighter. "Vhat is happen…" Slicer was going to ask, but suddenly, the same happened to him, the Imulsion flashed up and Slicer could only shout in pain as he too, fell to the floor, clenching his sides. "Ze Imulsion… it burns!" Slicer groaned. "Im… Impossible! It is our… salvation!" Rampage replied with great pain. The two warriors suddenly fell unconscious as the Imulsion inside them continued to glow… - _Nexus Inner Hollow The Siege of Nexus_ The Siege of the Nexus was not going well for the Locust Horde, on one hand, they had humans pouring in with their grind lifts, decimating their homes. Though in reality, the humans were not the bigger threat. The Lambent horde had managed to breach the outer defences of the Nexus and were now overwhelming the Locust with their larger numbers and superior strength. The bulk of the Lambent forces seemed to consist of Lambent Wretches, Drones, Grenadiers and Maulers. All commanded by Captains, clad in their dull, grey armour with helmets that had eye visors glowing bright green. Also amongst the Lambent were Martyrs, Lambent suicide bombers, who charged head first into crowds of Locust, detonating the explosives strapped to their chests and blowing both themselves and anyone around them. Though Locust didn't seem to be the only ones effected by the Imulsion. Crawling along the ground, grabbing and strangling Locust stragglers were Meat Puppets, the upper torso of dead Cog soldiers, crawling along the ground like zombies, Imulsion glowing through their open wounds, while the eyes of their helmets also seemed to glow green. They proved to be quite useful, as one Meat Puppet caught a Grenadier off guard, grabbing his leg and dragging him to the floor, the Meat Puppet then caught the Grenadier in a headlock, strangling the life out of him. The newest edition was some kind of Scorpion, no major differences aside from it's size and colour. The "Lambent" Scorpions appeared to be the same size as a large Crocodile, while it's skin was a muddy, gold colour. These beasts made mincemeat out of the rag tag Locust defenders, as they used their claws to gut the Drones, before stabbing them in the head with their stinger tails. Though they also seemed to show intelligence as well, one Scorpion grabbed a drone by the ankles with it's claws and actually held it down while a Lambent Captain sliced it in half with his Lancer's chainsaw. The Lambent forces charged towards two large doors which were thought to lead to the Barracks of the Palace. A Horde of Martyrs screamed as they ran straight into the doors, blowing themselves up and the doors wide open. Lambent Drones charged in, meeting resistance from Locust forces, The Locust defenders, consisting of only a few Drone classes and Grenadiers, managed to gun down the first wave of Lambent drones, but that was just the warm up. Rampage stormed in, holding a Boomshield, the Lambent Warrior roared as he threw the shield like a discus, a group of the Locust were sliced clean in half by the shield, their blood spraying all over the place. The rest were then picked off by single shot Lancer fire, Slicer stepped in, shooting any Drone or Grenadier that attempted to get up or flee. "In the name of the Overseers! Revenge shall be ours!" Rampage boomed, the roars and cheers of the Lambent echoing behind him. Rampage then spotted a wounded Drone trying to get up, not wanting to let a filthy drone get away, Rampage picked up a Meat Puppet and threw it at the Drone. The Meat Puppet wrapped itself around the Drone's upper body, covering his head. The Drone screamed as it tried to pull off the Meat Puppet, but the creature's grip was too tight. The Drone was then silenced as a Scorpion thrust it's stinger right through the Drone's gut, killing him instantly. The body fell and the Meat Puppet crawled away. The Lambent Drones then began to storm into the barracks, looking for any other Locust to kill. "Zhey seem different." Slicer pointed out. "What do you mean?" Rampage asked. "Somezing about zhem, zhey seem to have changed now…" Rampage spotted the Lambent Drones and noticed a slight change as well, normally, Lambent Drones resembled normal Locust drones, but their skin was darkened and Imulsion ran through their veins, but they had seemed to have changed. They were slightly bigger, more muscular, with bigger eyes, larger mouths and sharper, jagged claws and teeth. "Zhey are changing." Slicer added. "A gift from the Masters!" Rampage replied. "The Imulsion is turning them into stronger beings! Just as Slicer was about to say something, they suddenly heard screams of pain coming from their left, they turned to see the wall suddenly explode as two dead Locust drones were thrown through it. The Drones has been gutted, their organs hanging out of their wounds, one Drone even had the top of his head cut clean off. Both Warriors looked up to see a figure step out from the hole. The Warrior appeared to wear armour similar to that of a Palace Guard commander, metal chest armour resembling Kevlar with the arms and legs of Palace Guard armour, though the armour had been painted black with a few shades of brown. He wore a Helmet that had three, devil like horns, two on the left and right side, while having one at the back. Finally, he had two large, gargoyle like wings that loomed over him. It was Scourge… Commander of the Emissaries. The Elite bodyguards of the Overseers. "Scourge… Protector of our masters!" Rampage said, bowing before the superior Lambent. "So now you are a Sycophant to him asvell?" Slicer mocked. Though he quickly shut up when Scourge gave him a angry glare. Slicer peeked behind Scourge to see a pile of dead Drones, all cut up and gutted by his signature weapon, a very bloody Broadsword. "If you are looking for The Locust Queen, I'm afraid you are out of luck." Scourge announced, his voice deep and threatening. "It seems as though she had gone the way of a coward, fleeing her Palace and leaving her armies to burn." "What?!" Rampage and Slicer both gasped. "My Emissaries and I have already assaulted the throne room, she had long fled, it seems as though someone else had already been there." Scourge explained. Scourge then threw his sword over his shoulder, it impaled itself into the head of a Cyclops drone, who made the foolish mistake of trying to sneak up on an Emissary. "That traitorous vermin!" Rampage bellowed. "How dare she deify the word of the masters!" Scourge laughed as he pulled his sword out of the Cyclops's head, splitting it in half. "You'll get your chance." He cackled. "Until then, I'd suggest leaving here, my Emissaries and I feel there is nothing left here for us." With that said, Scourge flew through the entrance the Lambent soldiers had made and left the scene. - Two Lambent Drones chased after a fleeing Locust Drone, the creatures cackled as one picked up a Boltok pistol and fired. Hitting the runner straight in the head. His comrade laughed and ran on, although stopped when he suddenly saw his fellow soldier wasn't with him. He turned back to see the other Lambent Drone just standing there, twitching and shaking, he seemed to have gone into a spasm. The Lambent Drone then suddenly screamed as his arms grew larger, claws forming on his hands, his feet bursting through his boots as they grew bigger too. The Drone's jaw then stretched up would, covering his whole face while his eyes stretched over to the sides of his head. Spikes grew out of the top of his head while tentacles split out of his back. The other Drone could only watch as his comrade mutated further into a new kind of beast. The Beast Roared as it's tongue lashed out, apparently, the tongue had a mouth of it's own… - _Present Moment._ Back at the Tavern, Rampage and Slicer managed to regain consciousness and pick themselves up, they moaned and groaned as they could still feel the odd spikes of pain. "Vhat… Vhat happened?" Slicer groaned. "I don't know." Rampage replied wearily. There was a brief pause before Rampage got up off the floor and looked outside, the storm appeared to have passed now. Most of the rain had dried up. "It's over, we can continue." He announced. "But vhat about…" "We'll worry about that later!" Rampage interrupted, storming outside. "Persistant, aren't ve?" Slicer snarled to himself. The two Lambent, now outdoors, walked over to a road that appeared to go downhill and lead towards a forest. "The trail…" Rampage said, sniffing the air. "It goes down into that forest." "Oh yes, zhat large forest over zhere!" Slicer snapped. "I suppose you vant us to go…" He didn't finish, as Rampage kicked him down the hill. "Just… GO!" He growled.

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Chapter 4

Port Farrell, where the humans had fled after the sinking of Jacinto. The Sacrifice may have reduced the Locust threat by a lot, but without a safe haven, the human population found itself fighting tooth and nail to survive. Not just with Locust stragglers, but with Stranded pirates and of course, the bitter conditions. It was funny, how The Soul Killers had no idea the humans were, at the moment, in the same boat as them. No home and having to survive in the wild. Port Farrell was essentially just one giant refugee camp. No cushy comforts like back in Jacinto, even the military forces were feeling the sting of losing Jacinto. Though the people believed that maybe the Locust were finally destroyed and it wouldn't be long before the war would end. If only they knew of the true threat… - Nearby Port Farrell was an old abandoned building, Arkan University. Once a prosperous and beautiful school for the budding young people of Sera, now reduced to a dark, dank and grey ruin, each gust of wind blowing away bricks and glass. Inside, a man walked into one of the lecture halls, rows and rows of broken and mangled seats and tables, complete with a broken floor with weeds growing through the cracks. A wet roof which leaked every few seconds, not forgetting the cobwebs, plenty of those. The Man sighed as he found a reasonable sanitary seat to rest on. He wore a black lab coat over a dark green tee-shirt and red stripped tie, with dark brown trousers and polished shoes. He had small glasses and was bald with a fairly short goatee beard. He tried to think, but heard a knocking sound behind him, he turned to see a Cog Gear standing in the doorway. "Dr Eli France?" The Gear asked. "Lieutenant Adrian Pierce is looking for you." "Bring him here." Dr France replied. "I'll have a chat with him." The Gear nodded and left the scene. Dr France only had to wait a few seconds before the Cog Lieutenant appeared. He was a fairly well built man in typical Cog armour, he had short but messy brown hair and an eye patch over right eye. Pierce stood to attention before the Eli. "At ease Pierce, I'm not your superior." Dr France announced. "Very good." Pierce replied, going into a more casual stance. On the surface, these two humans were just like anyone else out there, but appearances were deceiving, Dr Eli France was a scientist for Cyron while Pierce served as both a Cog Lieutenant and a Cyron messenger. Cyron were shrouded in mystery, they were said to start out as just a robotics division, though after Emergence Day, Cyron grew bigger and bigger, creating all kinds of technology to help combat the Locust Horde, ranging from just advanced forms of scanner to giant War Robots. Cyron even had soldiers with them, though they called them a " Security Force" most Cog soldiers saw through that, they knew Cyron had their own Private Army. "So, any news?" Dr France asked. "Chairman Prescott is planning to send Delta Squad to Toxic Town." Pierce replied. "Hmmm?" "The Navel base Vectes, I don't know for sure, but rumour has it they call it Toxic Town because chemical weapons were developed there." Pierce explained. "Not our doing I hope?" "No sir." "…And the Locust?" Dr France added. "Mostly Stragglers, nothing serious, although the team sent to search for the downed Raven haven't reported back." Pierce replied, but then he suddenly appeared to shudder. "Doctor, that means that THEY are alive." "Who?" Dr France asked. "Them… The Soul Killers… the one's that destroyed Project Saviour, The Goliath and took my eye." Pierce said, clenching his fists, trying to hold back his anger. "Oh yes, the Locust Elite? They seem to kill Cog Soldiers all the time, I blame Delta Squad." Dr France pointed out. "Sir?" "Well, Delta Squad are some of the best soldiers I've seen in years. They're very good at beating back the Locust, so a bunch of young boys think 'I want to do that!' and sign up, thinking they get to kill some grubs." Dr France said in a both twisted yet cheerful tone. "What happens? They end up being killed by The Soul Killers, officially earning the title of 'Soul Killer Bait' Delta Squad make it look too good, like they're in some kind of video game."* "Yes well, propaganda can reduce the average IQ to blind loyalty." Pierce replied sarcastically. "The Goliath wasn't a total loss though." Dr France said optimistically. "The tests were conclusive, can't say for sure, but there may be plans for a Goliath MKII!" Pierce was about to turn and leave, but he was called back. "One last thing Pierce." Dr France announced. "Dr Simms and Subject Omega?" Pierce suddenly went a bit still, he wasn't quite sure what to think, no, he was fine with Dr Simms, but Subject Omega was a different story. "Dr Simms is out on an exploration mission, don't worry, he's got plenty of people to guard him." Pierce replied. "And…" Dr France said. "Well, we can't… find Laboratory 5, where we… kept it. All I know is that it is somewhere in Landown." Pierce added, with a fearful stutter. "Dr Simms will know." "Well, hopefully he'll get back soon." Dr France replied. "You can go now." Pierce nodded and left the building. - Back at Landown mountains, the Locust could finally come out as the storm had long gone, most of the rain had finally dried up and, much to everyone's surprise, the shacks managed to stay up. So it was back to living. Nearby, The Soul Killers Reaver was resting, it laid flat on it's belly and snoozed away, letting it's tongue hang out of it's mouth. While next to it, Onwa and Sauvix were messing about with a piece of scavenged human technology. Sauvix had both a toolkit and a scavenged first aid bag, where he kept a few medical supplies. Trouble was, while Onwa and Sauvix tried to work, strange little wasp like creatures kept buzzing around them. Onwa just ignored them, but Sauvix tried to swat them away. "So, if we get this device working…?" Onwa asked. "We'll be able to pick up Raven Transmissions…" Sauvix explained, trying to swat away more bugs. "Just in case they fly over here, we'll pick up… radio chatter… with this. Early… warning." "Okay, next question." Onwa added with an unsure look. "What are these things buzzing around?" "I don't know." Sauvix replied, though from the sound of it, his patience was wearing thin. "Some strange breed of wasp, a stinging insect." Finally, Sauvix brushed away one more Wasp before letting it out. "Damn it Onwa!" He snapped. "Why are we here? We were perfectly safe in our Headquarters!" "It's not Hakar's fault." Onwa replied with the greatest restraint. "I'm not saying it is, though surely he could see that, even during The Horde's constant attacks on the surface, not once did the humans find us in our Headquarters!" Sauvix protested. "We should've just stayed there!" Onwa stood up, pinching the bridge of his bony, Theron nose. "It's Brother Markon." He started saying. "Markon found these survivors and thought to take them up to the mountains, hoping the humans wouldn't look there." "Hakar, knowing the difference between right and wrong, felt it necessary for us to guard these survivors." Onwa continued. "So that's why we are here, satisfied?" "Not really." Sauvix barked. "These conditions aren't suitable for us, at least back at HQ we could retreat indoors." "You really don't care for these survivors?" Onwa asked, completely surprised. "You're just looking out for yourself?" "These idiots all blindly followed The Queen and look where it got them." Sauvix replied, still batting away at the wasps. "The only consolation I get out of this is that I get to die knowing I was right." Onwa shook his head in disappointment, okay, Sauvix had always been sceptical about The Queen, but never to this point. Maybe all those ill feelings about the Queen for locking him away had finally caught up, now without her or her eyes and ears around, he could finally let loose all that steam. Onwa turned away from Sauvix, who was still trying to work, but those wasps were starting to get on his nerves. "Stupid conditions… damn pests!" He snarled, one wasp then hovered above his face. "Oh leave me alone can't you?!" He snarled, slapping the wasp, the little bug was sent spiralling. The Wasp, dizzy from the blow, spun out and drifted towards the Reaver, who was still sleeping peacefully. The Wasp managed to catch itself and land on the Reaver's tongue. Still a bit shaken, the Wasp vented it's anger by lifting up it's stinger… and jabbing the Reaver straight in it's tongue. Shocked by the sting, The Reaver woke up instantly and shrieked in pain as the wasp flew away. Onwa and Sauvix turned to see the Reaver bucking and thrusting it's head, crying in agony. The two rushed over to the creature. "What's wrong?" Onwa asked. Holding it's mouth open, Sauvix saw the Reaver's tongue had really flared up, part of it was almost glowing red around a small little lump, made by the wasp. "I'll fix it…" Sauvix sighed. Reaching for his first aid kit. Sauvix pulled out a small ball of cotton wool and a bottle which contained a home made anti-irritant. Sauvix dabbed some of the liquid on the cotton wool and walked over to the Reaver, who whined at the sight of it, apparently not happy. "I know you don't like it, but it's for your own good." Onwa said. Sauvix held the Reaver's tongue with one hand while dabbing the cotton ball around the inflamed area. He did this a few times, just to make he covered it all. When he was done, The Reaver appeared to make sickly coughing noises. Onwa knew the Reaver wasn't best happy. It hated the taste of any medicine. Though suddenly, he heard the sound of Sauvix's sarcastic laugh. "What is it?" Onwa sighed. "I think you'll find even your beloved Pet agrees with me." Sauvix chortled. - Hakar sat down outside one of the huts, tapping his foot rapidly. Priest Quaar's words still ran through his mind. "Enemy planning revenge? Abomination?" Though those weren't the one's he was concerned about, no, the one he thought of the most was. "Keep Zaach out of danger!" Why though? What was going to happen? Was there something about Zaach that made him special? The thought was going to kill him! It also didn't help that Zaach and Taus had taken the 2nd Reaver to go on a scouting mission, just to check for any other Cog patrols. Hakar was suddenly awoken by the feeling of something kicking his boot, he looked up to see a Bolter Drone, starring at him lifelessly. "Jareek?" Hakar asked. "Urgh." Jareek replied. "Are you okay?" "Urrr…" Jareek then stumbled away from Hakar, he wasn't always like this, but Hakar knew how Jareek felt. The young Bolter Drone had a twin brother, Bohvak, a little headstrong, but quite an upbeat and likable soldier. The Twins were never seen apart, always working together and always looking out for each other. This all ended when Bohvak was forced to defend the outskirts of Sacrificum while Jareek was forced to defend the outer nexus. Without Jareek to guide him, Bohvak was killed by a Lambent soldier. Turning Jareek into a guilt ridden, lifeless zombie. Hakar shook his head, poor kid. "Still sitting around, when you could be fighting?" Taunted a voice. Hakar perked up as a sense of dread began to fill the air, he could recognize that slimy, sinister voice anywhere. He turned around to see a lean, well spoken Theron Major with a rather sadistic cackle on his face. "Major Kobra." Hakar sighed. Kobra wasn't exactly Hakar's type of Locust. Kobra had served alongside his father during the early days of the Locust civil war and the Human-Locust war. Trouble was, Kobra was the sly, devious, deceptive type that not only enjoyed winding RAAM up, but could also convince you to hate your best friend. Aside from his sinister, sick smile. Kobra's other feature was that he had managed to tame a creature native to the Surface, T'Chark knows how he did it. The Creature was a leathery serpent with no arms or legs and had a strange "Hood" over it, apparently it was called a "Cobra" funnily enough. "Ah, how good it is to see the Son of my dear friend, alive and well." Kobra gleefully chortled. "Friend is a bit strong." Hakar hissed. "Oh come now, your father and I helped defend the Hollow from the Lambent many times now." Kobra added, obviously trying to wind up Hakar. "We stood side by side." Hakar didn't reply, he just grunted. "Good to see you still hold the rank of Soul Killer." Kobra chuckled. "RAAM always said you did the rank justice." "Uh?" Hakar huffed. "He told me you could do it, despite your… handicap with the Theron Torque Bow?" Kobra said, a hint of spite in his voice. "Really?" Hakar growled. "He told me you were a snake that couldn't be trusted!" Kobra laughed. "Well, he and I did have our fights from time to time." "Look, what do you want Kobra?" Hakar snapped. "Can't an old war veteran say hello to the son of his close friend?" Kobra said gleefully. "No, leave me alone please." Hakar grumbled. "You've certainly got RAAM's anger." Kobra sneered. "The aggressiveness must come your mother, Ve…" Kobra couldn't finish, Hakar leapt up off the ground and grabbed Kobra by the chest, slamming him into the wall of one of the shacks. "Don't… you… dare!" Hakar snarled through his clenched teeth. "You've no right to mention her!" Kobra pushed Hakar's hands down, sniffed, then walked away. His Cobra appeared to hiss at Hakar. Hakar couldn't let that scumbag Kobra so much as mention the name Veega. His Mother. She wasn't like the others, she may have been a Berserker, but she came from a rare strand of the breed that was gifted with Sight, sound and some intelligence. Granted, it wasn't Priestess level, but enough for them to recognize their own flesh and blood. Hakar hated the fact that she was always locked away in the breeding chambers, sure, she may have had her own "Special" chamber, but she was still kept out of the Hollow's sight like she was some kind of freak. To this day, Hakar always assumed that she had been killed by the Lightmass bombing, but this was far from the truth, she had survived and escaped her chamber, she was never found though, so who knew what happened to her. Just as Hakar was about to relax, the Soul Killer's 2nd Reaver flew overhead, landing nearby, Hakar rushed over to see, much to his relief, that Zaach and Taus were okay. "Well?" Hakar asked, masking his anxiety. "We spotted Humans all around a nearby creek leading to some caves." Taus reported. "We think they may be Locust hunting." "Zaach, get everyone ready, there could be more survivors being hunted!" Hakar ordered. "Right!" Zaach said, saluting. -

Further away to the left of the Cyron Locust conflict, hiding away in some undergrowth, Taus sat perfectly still, a look of concentration carved into his face. While Braahk and Sauvix moved forward to assist in the battle, Taus chose to sit back and pick off targets from afar. Taus certainly lived up to his name of being The Soul Killer's skilled marksman. Whenever something entered the scope, Taus could shoot it dead. Though Taus never believed that his targets were sport, nor did he believe in hunting for fun. He used to think that, but ever since he got his neck wound, he found that every time he grew a little cocky, the wound would flare up and would give up him a tremendous amount of pain. This didn't stop Taus though, in fact, he felt it helped him, as it stopped him boasting, so he could concentrate on fighting. "BANG!" Taus floored another Cyron soldier with an easy headshot, there seemed to be quite a lot of them around. Though Taus didn't really think about it too hard. He managed to sneak in a smile as he blasted another Soldier's head clean open. He suddenly heard the noise of a violent thunder clap, looking up, a series of small rain drops fell down. "Thought so." Taus whispered to himself. "Though a little earlier than I thought." - "RUN WORMS!" Braahk cheered as he stormed forward with his Mulcher, laying down fire upon the fleeing Cyron troops. The Locust drones around him cheered as Braahk managed to pick off several soldiers, reducing them to bloody chunks of meat. "Ha! They think they soldiers? They weak!" Braahk mocked, kicking the torn apart remains of a soldiers torso. "I fight wretches tougher than them!" Sauvix didn't say anything, he just sighed. Braahk may have been loud-mouthed and had the mental power a youngling, but he was good at what he did, that being killing things. Things changed, however, when a hail of Chaingun fire came BACK at them. Braahk, surprised to see this retaliation, sidestepped to his right while Sauvix ducked with him. Braahk could only watch in horror as several of the Drones that had cheered him on where gunned down with ease. Some of them managed to retreat, though only a lucky few managed to get to cover, others were still blasted by the Chaingun. Ducking behind a fallen tree, Sauvix looked up to see several Cyron troops making their way back to the battlefield, along with something else. "Oh great…" he gasped. It was another one of Cyron's war robots. This one being roughly the same size of a Boomer, completely covered from head to toe in powerful, tank like black armour. It's seemingly eyeless helmet covering it's "face". The Robot was armed with some kind of portable Chaingun, which it carried with it's right hand. The Robot opened fire on Braahk and Sauvix, Sauvix had to go prone behind the tree as bullets whizzed over him, while Braahk had a tougher time dodging the bullets, he dropped his Mulcher and tried to duck with Sauvix, though several of the bullets nicked flesh in his left arm. "What monster is that?" Braahk yelled. "Another one of the humans Demons by the look of it!" Sauvix shouted back. The Robot stopped for a second and turned to the direction that Hakar, Onwa and Zaach faced. "New Target Acquired." It boomed. - The Rain got heavier as Hakar, Onwa and Zaach all ducked out of the Robot's line of fire. Bullets tore apart the trees as the Robot continued firing, seeking out The Soul Killers. The Robot stopped for a minute as a few more Locust drones tried to charge it, though the Robot merely turned around, backhanded a drone that got too close and simply gunned down the rest. The Robot turned back and spotted Zaach, who was trying to take cover. "Priority Target." The Robot Announced in it's hollow bottomless-deep voice. "Seek, Locate and Destroy." Zaach could only gulp as the hulking Death machine stomped towards him, though as Taus pointed out, the rain made it harder to see, so all Zaach could see was a giant black silhouette stomp towards him. Drones not supposed to show fear? Zaach was a Soul Killer… and he was petrified. Hakar and Onwa desperately tried to draw attention to the Robot, but Hakar's bullets and Onwa's torque arrows ricocheted off the Robot's armour. Meanwhile, Braahk, Sauvix and Taus kept the Cyron troopers at bay. Zaach could hear the sounds of heads popping and Cyron troopers screaming as they were either burnt or shot by Braahk, but that wasn't a great comfort. Zaach tried shooting at the looming figure, but to no avail, his Hammerburst bullets didn't even scratch the Robot's armour. That's when Hakar and Onwa pulled out their bolo grenades, desperate for ideas to stop the metal monster. Both Soul Killers tossed their grenades, but the Robot didn't even stop, the grenades bounced off it's armour and landed near it's feet. Both grenades detonated, but the Robot simply kept on walking, almost casually. It's armour was slightly dirty from the grenades, but no harm was done. "That's it!" Hakar shouted, he picked up a Lancer assault rifle off the body of the nearest Cyron trooper and made a beeline for the Robot. Zaach, scared stiff, was up against a tree as the Robot loomed over him, pointing it's Chaingun directly at him. "Eliminate Target: Soul Killer." It growled. Suddenly, Hakar leapt onto the back of the Robot and grabbed hold of it's neck with one hand. The Robot made confused grunts and buzzes as it tried to get Hakar off, but no matter how much it flailed about, Hakar held on tight. Hakar managed to wrap his legs around the lower chest of the hulking Robot and pulled out his Lancer, revving up the blade. Hakar drove the chainsaw straight into the robot's neck. Zaach covered one side of his head with his arm as sparks flew in all directions. Hakar roared as he pushed the chainsaw further into the Robot's neck. Smoke spluttered and the sparks grew more violent as the Robot tried to use it's free arm to grab Hakar. At one point, however, the Robot did grab Hakar and threw him away. Hakar crashed into a tree and fell onto his back. He looked up to see The Robot hold it's open "Wound" with one hand while wearily aiming it's Chaingun with the other. Though it didn't get the chance. Onwa fired a Torque arrow into the wound, amazingly going over the Robot's hand. The arrow exploded, sending the Robot crashing into the ground, defeated and destroyed. Zaach was still trembling, that metal demon almost had him! Hakar then came rushing over to Zaach. "Speak to me Zaach!" Hakar demanded. "Are you okay?!" "I… I think so." Zaach spluttered. Hakar picked Zaach up off the ground. He then turned around to see Sauvix, Taus and Braahk join in. "Metal monster dead?" Braahk asked cautiously. "Destroyed, just like any other demon they throw at us." Hakar replied. "The rest of the Cyron troops retreated." Taus announced. "Though whatever that monster was, it pretty much tore apart the survivors." Sauvix knelt down and looked closely at the Robot, he starred at it in fascination, perhaps he knew something. "Well I'll be, a Peacekeeper Robot." Sauvix gasped in a surprisingly gleeful tone. "Peacekeeper?" Zaach panted. "That thing nearly killed me!" "You know of it?" Onwa asked. "I read about them, Cyron used to use them for Crowd control during the early years of the Human Pendulum Wars." Sauvix explained. "Granted, those models back then were basic and didn't have Chaingun's as weapons." "If you ask me, it seems as though someone's ordered an upgrade job for this Robot." He added. "Chances are Cyron will have a few more hanging around." "Oh great." Zaach whined. "Why upgrade only one?" Sauvix pointed out. "It's like when they ordered the Constructer Robot to be rebuilt to the Guardian Robot after our little fight at the Space uplink station." "Don't remind me." Onwa sighed, remembering his missing eye. The Soul Killers all stood perfectly still, looking over the fallen monster as the rain continued to beat down on them.

Just Warming up!

Chapter 6

The Rain beat down quite heavily as The Soul Killers mopped up what was left of the battle. Bodies of Cyron soldiers and the Drones that had appeared half way through lay scattered around the war zone. Luckily the Soul Killers had been there, the Cyron soldiers had gunned down most of the stragglers and the Peacekeeper Robot would've made mincemeat out of them. Heck, it would've made mincemeat out the Soul Killers as well, luckily, Hakar's savagery came in handy. The Reavers arrived after being called out by Onwa, they had been hiding away somewhere safe. Onwa was impressed how the two creatures always managed to hide away, considered their size and appearance contrasting with the surface world. "Close call, don't you think?" Taus asked, kicking a dead Cyron soldier away. "A little too close for my liking." Sauvix replied. "Bah! They still fall though!" Boomed Braahk. "We crush them like bugs!" "Oh yes, you don't care how much danger we get into, as long as you get to kill something, it's all fine." Sauvix growled. "You just jealous." Braahk barked back. "I kill Groundwalkers easily, it fun too!" Sauvix let out a deep sigh, there wasn't much point trying to talk to Braahk. He was really only here for a fight. Sauvix just shrugged and went back to Taus, who was looking around, sniffing the air. "Something wrong?" Sauvix asked. "I can sense something… further in that direction." Taus pointed out, looking straight onward. One thing every Soul Killer could agree on, was to trust Taus's instincts. He was their scout after all, plus most, if not, all the times he sensed something, it was indeed real. "The Rain's making it a bit harder to determine what it is though." Taus explained. "I may need to investigate further." "Must you?" Sauvix sighed. "Don't you wish to find out what I've found?" "Not really." "I go with you." Braahk announced. "You may need guarding, in case ground walkers dare pick fight!" Taus nodded in agreement, both Soul Killers looked over to Sauvix, who let out yet another sigh, it seemed he was reluctantly agreeing to join in. "What's going on?" called a voice. The three looked back to see it was Hakar approaching them, he had his sword in one hand and was dragging the half alive body of a Cog soldier, rather than a Cyron Soldier, with him. Obviously the Cog was one of the four sent here with the Cyron troops. "Taus find something boss!" Braahk replied. "He go look for it, yes?" "I'm picking up a trace of something in that direction, but the rain's making harder for me to sense what it is exactly." Taus explained. "With your permission, I'd like to take Sauvix and Braahk to investigate." "Very well, but take heed! I don't want another fire fight right now." Hakar replied. "When do you schedule our next one then?" Sauvix muttered under his breath, quiet enough so that Hakar didn't hear. The three Soul Killers set off in the direction of the scent. While Hakar looked down at his victim. "As you for you…" He hissed. "F*ck off…" The Cog moaned. "I don't like your tone." Hakar then used his blade to slit the Cog soldier's throat open, the Cog coughed and spluttered as he fell face first onto the dirt, a large, bloody pool forming around him. Hakar chuckled at the sight. He then looked behind him to see Onwa and Zaach approach him, with the first Reaver in tow. "Well?" Hakar asked. "Straggler party, they were hiding from Cyron soldiers until we joined the fight. That apparently motivated them to help us." Onwa explained. "For what they said, Cyron weren't here hunting for them, they were just considered a 'Bonus.'" Zaach added. "They don't know what they were really here for." Hakar wasn't quite sure what to think of it. Ever since the day he first heard of them, he was never sure what to make of "Cyron" on the surface, just more humans fighting, but there was something about them that just made him curious. Was it the dependence on metal monsters or the fact that they seemed ever so illusive, only ever coming out every once and a while? "We'll get them fixed up and take them back to the mountains." Onwa summed up. He then turned to his Reaver, but the creature made an unsatisfied grunt and stuck it's still sore tongue at him. "You're still sulking?" Onwa asked in a patronising manner. "It's too use to a cushy life, you've made it soft." Zaach joked. "Oh indeed." Onwa smiled back. - Sauvix, Taus and Braahk were making steady progress, the trail was starting to take them to what looked like a stretch of road that would take them out of the forest. Sauvix and Braahk kept looking around, checking for enemies, while Taus just concentrated on the trail he could sense. Following the road, the trail had now taken them out of the forest and onto a long stretch of highway. It was mostly flooded by the heavy rain, portions of the road covered in large puddles of dirty water. There was that smell as well, the smell of rain water and concrete. Not pleasant at all. "Over there!" Taus called, pointing to what looked like a road checkpoint. Sauvix and Braahk followed Taus as he lead them closer to the checkpoint. It seemed to consist of a couple of buildings and a guard post surrounded by tall, concrete walls and two gates at both ends of the road, guarded by four watchtowers. Perhaps this was a path used by military convoys. Taus stood in the dead centre of the checkpoint road, sniffing the air, whatever he could sense, was defiantly here. "Well?" Sauvix asked. "Whatever it is, it's here… I can't help shake the feeling I've sensed it before…" Taus insisted. "Almost like…" "Look out!" Shouted Braahk. Taus ducked as suddenly, a burst fire of bullets whizzed straight past him. The Three Soul Killers frantically rushed over to one of the buildings, a petrol station of some kind. Luckily the fuel tanks looked as though they had already been destroyed. More Cyron Soldiers, probably a scouting party of some kind. Taus could hear them yell orders to each other in their deep, vocoded voices. "Oh wonderful, you lead us to an ambush!" Sauvix snarled. "No! This isn't what I sensed!" Taus snapped. "Humans! Kill them all!" Braahk yelled over both, he poked his Mulcher out and fired in any direction. But a sudden hail of concentrated gunfire sent Braahk backwards. "Can't see them!" He stammered. Taus rested his Longshot on one of the windowsills and looked down the scope. He spotted a Cyron trooper emerge from the shadows of one of the other buildings. Taus clenched his teeth as he fired the shot. "BANG!" He hit the Cyron Soldier right in the head, brains and helmet fragments splattered everywhere as the body collapsed on the spot. Taus snuck in a grin as he reloaded and aimed again. Spotting another Cyron soldier approach. "BANG!" Scoring a hit right in the chest, the soldier almost back -flipped as his body fell to the floor. "Got you." Taus hissed. Suddenly, Taus felt a sudden rush of pain to his bandaged neck. Taus let out a cry of pain as he fell to the floor, dropping his Longshot and holding onto the wound. "Not…now!" He groaned. Sauvix and Braahk could only look over him as the sounds of Cyron voices drew closer. Though all of a sudden, they could hear more gunfire, not Lancer or Gnasher, but that of Gorgon pistols, the charging of a Torque bow and even a Hammerburst. Taus's pain died down as he managed to pick himself up and listen to the gunfight. The sounds were a mix of Lancer and Hammerburst fire, a Torque arrow exploding, Gorgon bullets and Cyron soldiers screaming and calling out retreat. The three Soul Killers looked out the windows, a few Cyron soldiers were fleeing the scene, while most of them looked as though they had been gunned down. One was in bloody pieces, hit by a Torque arrow. Taus spotted a shadowy figure using a Torque bow blade to decapitate a Cyron Soldier, slicing his head clean off and being showered with blood. While another figure gutted another Soldier with a scythe like weapon. Once all the Cyron soldiers had been dispatched, there was a pause, the only sound being the noise of the rain, beating on the ground with the occasional clap of thunder. Braahk began to step outside. "What are you doing?!" Sauvix hissed. "They kill humans, they must be friends no?" Braahk suggested. Braahk continued to step outside, he stood dead in the centre of the checkpoint road, right where Taus had been a few moments ago. "We Soul Killers, we friends, we mean no harm!" Braahk called out. "You kill humans? We do that too!" "Still the master of negotiation I see?" Sauvix whispered to Taus. Taus made a "Hush!" motion with his hand and then looked at Braahk. The Grinder turned back to them and made a "Come over here" motion with his arm. The two got up, though Sauvix had his flamethrower prepped, just in case. Taus gave him an odd look. Both stepped out into the rain and approached Braahk. "You see? They Locust, like us!" Braahk reassured, pointing to the figures, four of them, now in full view. "Well I'll be…" Taus thought. They weren't just any breed of Locust. They were Priestesses. The Female Kantus, they strongly resembled their male counterparts, though their skin was a shade of pink, rather than peach, they had smaller mouths and their eyes appeared to be both wider and not quite as sunken in as the male eyes. Taus noticed that they looked as though they had been through the mill with several scars to prove it, especially their bare feet, which looked dirty, bruised and even bleeding, but the Priestess was strong, stronger than the male. She could take all kinds of punishment. How did such a sacred member of the species get all the way out here? "So you are The Soul Killers then?" One of the Priestesses announced, appearing to be the leader of the four. "Three of us anyway." Taus replied. "The others are back in the forest." Sauvix, meanwhile, watched as the Priestesses appeared to "examine" them. "I am Nokada." The leader introduced, before pointing to the other three. "This is Chal, Ithak and Ara." Taus bowed his head. "My name is Taus, these are my comrades Sauvix and Braahk." Nokada bowed her head as well. "Nokada, I sense danger!" called out Chal, aiming her Torque Bow frantically. "It's not safe here, follow me!" Nokada ordered. She lead the group towards the other gate. "Shouldn't we…?" Sauvix began to Taus. "Let's just go with them for the time being." Taus replied, cutting off Sauvix. The Priestess Ara didn't leave immediately, she picked up the smashed up Helmet of a dead Cyron trooper, chuckling as she carried it with her. Obviously wanting a Souvenir. - The four priestesses lead the Soul Killers towards a steep hill, they climbed up to the top, not an easy task with the rain making a mudslide, causing it to become slippery. No one slipped up as the group made their way to the top. Leading them to a smaller woodland. Taus saw the priestesses were taking them to a large burrow in what looked like the edge of another steep hill. It had foliage covered around the entrance, though Taus could smell blood nearby. He soon found the source when he felt like he stepped on something, Taus looked down to see under his boot, he had stepped on the head of a half buried Cog soldier. Rot flies were breaking through the cracks in the soldier's armour and were feasting on the rotting flesh inside. "You've been keeping intruders away I see?" Taus asked nervously. "We can't let any humans find out where we are, not with our injured party." Ithak explained. "Though we are running out of places to bury them." Ara added playfully. Nokada lead them all into the burrow, it was actually quite big, though Braahk did have to lower his head to get into the entrance. Once they were inside though, it was big enough to hold even Braahk. It seemed as though these Priestesses had made a home out of this cave, carving the space themselves. They had torches mounted on the walls, scavenged furniture from the hollow and pictures of Kantus symbols and artists impressions of T'Chark also hung proudly on the cave walls. "Quite a home you have here." Taus said, impressed. "Not exactly The Nexus, but it's kept us alive." Nokada replied. "So why you here?" Braahk asked. "We'll explain a little later, for the time being, please settle in." Nokada Requested. Sauvix was about to say something, but Taus stopped him. "Best do as she says." Taus urged. "She's right anyway, we need to take a breather." Sauvix sighed and, once again, reluctantly agreed.

Cool huh?

Chapter 7

The three Soul Killers relaxed, Sauvix and Taus sat down on some rocks formed into makeshift chairs, while Braahk simply examined the walls, looking at all the stuff the Priestesses had scavenged from the hollow. "I wonder how long they've been up here?" Sauvix pondered. "There is a lot of stuff in here, so they've obviously been busy for quite a while." While Sauvix thought of that, Braahk turned his attention to a painting hanging on the rocky walls. It was just a symbol, painted on the flesh of a Rockworm. The symbol resembled a Pyramid shape, painted in red, while in the centre of it, there was the symbol meaning "T'Chark" painted in black. Despite his huge size, Braahk was ever so gentle in touching it, he grabbed the bottom the painting and pulled it forward ever so slightly to examine it further. "An old painting of mine." Called the voice of Priestess Nokada, Braahk turned around to see she and the other three, Ithak, Chal and Ara, had rejoined The Soul Killers. Nokada approached the painting as well. "I used to paint a lot, it kept me going during the hard times." She added. "Is very good!" complimented Braahk. "Reminds me of home!" Nokada smiled. "Thank you." she said. "In our belief's, it said that T'Chark would come to wherever this symbol was held." "But it hasn't, has it?" Ithak snapped. "That god-forsaken Queen drove her away!" "I'm sure she didn't mean to…" Nokada was going to try and say, but Ithak quickly cut her off. "Oh don't play the forgiveness routine!" She barked. "The Queen ignored the warnings of our Goddess and went to war with the humans! T'Chark knew that would bring our doom! Now we are dying out because of that scum on the throne!" Chal and Ara simply stood back, not wanting to get involved. Ithak then turned her attention to Sauvix, Taus and Braahk. "Nothing personal against you." She huffed. "But you still wear the armour of The Queen's personal elite…" "I doubt you can call us that anymore." Sauvix notified. Ithak looked at him, confused. "We don't know what happened to The Queen." Taus added. "We've been surviving in Landown mountains for a week or two now. Haven't heard anything from her." "So… you're now like us?" Ithak asked, a curious smile on her face. "You could say that, though I can't say I've been enjoying it." Sauvix replied. "Bugs, weather conditions…" Taus suddenly placed his hand in front of Sauvix's face, obviously wanting Sauvix to be quiet. Then, there was what sounded like a small cry, coming from a passage to the left of the "Room". Priestess Ara got up and rushed down the passage, Braahk, rather curious, decided to follow. Nokada and Ithak let him go. "We've skipped over the point… who are you?" Taus asked. "We are The Lost." Chal announced. "The lucky 'Heretics' to survive." "The Lost eh?" Sauvix observed. "How long have you been up here?" Nokada grabbed a rock of her own and sat down in front of Sauvix and Taus. "We fled after the Death bringer had destroyed the outer hollow." Nokada explained. "That is when we knew T'Chark's prediction of our extinction if we fought the humans would come true." "There were others, though they weren't lucky." Chal added. "Either killed by the Death bringer, or captured by the Queen's followers." That had always been the problem with the Kantus. Before the day forever known as "E-Day" to the humans, the supreme worm Goddess T'Chark foresaw that if The Locust Horde went to war with humanity, they would be overrun by both Humans and the Lambent or "Dark Ones". The current High Priest, Setnar, pleaded with the War Commanders not to fight the humans, but none would listen. Seeing this, T'Chark and many followers fled, where to was unknown. Some say T'Chark buried herself way, way below the Inner Hollow. Though Sauvix didn't buy it, what about Sera's core? Then again, he wasn't the religious type either, they were free to believe in whatever. Though ever since that day, The Kantus party has been split three different ways. There were those who supported The Queen and converted themselves into her followers, enforcing every word she said to the lowly Drones below her. The second party were the loyalists to T'Chark. They refused to support the Queen, believing her to be "The Death of T'Chark" these Kantus were, perhaps ironically, branded "Heretics" and were often hounded, chased, arrested and sometimes beaten by Theron police. Finally, there was the "Agnostics" those who didn't know what to think, or had abandoned faith in both parties all together. They chose to stay away from the conflict. "We had always tried to preach to the Horde that fighting the humans would only lead to our destruction, but we, like all the others, were chased away." Nokada explained. "Filthy Heretics, The Queen's lot called us." Ithak growled. "Called us cowards because we were too smart to get killed by them." "I know the feeling." Sauvix sighed in agreement. "Eventually, enough was enough, after narrowly surviving the Lambent's first assault on Nexus, I gathered up as many followers as I could. We got everything we needed and fled up to the surface." Nokada summed up. "Ever since then, we've been surviving up here." "We scavenge stuff from the surface world." Chal added. "Anything we can get a hold of, even the human technology we don't understand, we can still find a good use for it." "The Humans must've suspected our arrival though, they started sending squads of soldiers to investigate these forests." Nokada pointed out, rubbing one foot with the other. "At first, we simply avoided them and they left eventually, but soon they started to get a little close, so we had to… dispatch them." "Kill them and bury the bodies basically." Ithak chortled sarcastically. Nokada gave her an angry glare. "Though all of a sudden, the squads stopped coming." Chal continued. "Ferex, our scout, told us that the humans were now concentrating on launching an attack on the hollow!" "Operation Hollow Storm they called it." Sauvix stated. "Let's just say it went in the Lambent's favour." "That wasn't all though… while the humans prepared for battle, we received a message via messenger bat." Chal revealed. Chal then pulled out a small scroll and handed it over to Sauvix, the Soul Killer glanced over at the message, though after a few seconds, he put the letter down and looked straight at Nokada. "Is she here?" He demanded. "You know of her?" Nokada asked. "Oh yes… did she tell you of Oksjord, the one's who rescued her?" Nokada, Chal and Ithak all perked up. "You mean…" "Yes yes, though can we see her, is she alright?" - Elsewhere, Braahk had followed the Priestess Ara down the passage, he was amazed at the passage networks these Priestess's has dug, granted, he had to keep ducking his head down, they hadn't been made for someone his size. Braahk caught up with Ara, she was standing over a small basket, made from willow, with small blankets made from torn robes and human cloth in it. The "room" they were in also had small paintings around, pretty messy stuff though, not like the kind Braahk had seen moments before. "What you do?" Braahk asked. "I have to tend to this young one." Ara replied. "Who?" Braahk then looked down at the basket, Ara moved the blankets just a little bit to reveal a Kantus youngling, it starred up at Braahk with it's small, yet inquisitive eyes, before gently pulling it's blanket back up to it's mouth. "Youngling!" Braahk gasped. "My sister's son." Ara announced. "She gave birth not long ago, but…" "Where she?" "She was killed… humans got her while she was scavenging." Ara explained, sadness in her tone. Braahk watched Ara look back at the youngling before gently picking him up, cradling him. "I'll make sure to take good care of him though… even in these times." Ara added. "They tell me Berserkers make younglings!" Braahk protested. That seemed to put life back into Ara, as she looked at him and smiled. "We Kantus do things… differently to the rest of the Horde." Ara tittered, coming closer to Braahk. The youngling then appeared to stretch it's little arms towards Braahk, curious about the big creature in front of it. Ara looked down at the youngling, then assumed he wanted Braahk to hold him. Ara gently handed Braahk the youngling, who, just as gently, grabbed him. "Oh hello!" Braahk grinned. "You be little one yes?" The youngling giggled as Braahk held one of his fingers over it's head. The little one grabbed Braahk's finger and tried to pull it down, but the big Grinder was far too strong. "Ho ho! You have grip! You be strong when you older!" Braahk laughed. "Humans no match for you!" Ara stood by with her arms crossed, she smiled as Braahk and the youngling bonded. She could see Braahk wasn't your typical "Dumb" Grinder. No, he was a gentle giant, to his friends maybe, humans and Lambent? Maybe not. "You do good!" Braahk complimented. "He seem strong!" "Thank you." Ara said, though suddenly, the smile seemed to drop from her face. "Though it feels wrong." "Oh?" Braahk asked. "She birthed such a healthy, wonderful youngling into a world of hate, death and destruction." Ara sighed. "He'll grow up in a world where we will have died out, and he'll be hunted down by the humans like some wild animal! Another trophy to hang on their walls!" Ara then placed her hand over her eyes and took a deep breath, she was beginning to tear up. "I'm… sorry." She whimpered. "No, no! We no lose!" Braahk said, trying to reassure her. "We not let humans win! They the monsters! For that, they die!" Ara nodded, though she wasn't agreeing with Braahk, she knew that T'Chark had foreseen their extinction, that was inevitable. Still, Braahk was just trying to cheer her up. "I'm beginning to wonder if Galai was right about… ki…killing it before it was born." Ara sobbed. "No! Kill this little one… that barbaric! That what humans do!" Braahk snapped. Braahk looked back down at the youngling, his innocent eyes gazing up at him. When all of a sudden, something snapped. "You say Galai?" he asked. - Sauvix and Taus stood perfectly still as Nokada, Chal and Ithak showed them the Priestess. She laid on a pile of cloth and robes formed into the shape of a bed, she twitched and mumbled words, though nobody could understand them. Sauvix looked at her, it was someone he recognized, Priestess Galai. The Queen had sent him, Zaach, Braahk, Krall and Torgr to the snowy plains Oksjord, as she had fled there after a Lambent ambush. The Queen never really specified why the had to bend over backwards and risk their lives for one priestess. Galai almost looked exactly like how Sauvix last saw her, light pink tone of skin, tattoos all around the stomach, though she didn't appear to have all her high class robes or crown helmet with her. Sauvix also noted small scars on her arms, suggesting she had been self harming. "So, you're the ones who rescued her?" Chal asked. "Yes, The Queen never really told us why though, we may have been her elite, but she still treated us like tools. She just said rescue her, nothing else." That comment got a smile out of Ithak, she and Sauvix seemed to have the same opinions. "It was Skorge that wanted her." Nokada announced. "After the Lambent had been repelled from the Nexus, Skorge was appointed the new high priest. He wanted to see if he could summon T'Chark and bring her back to us, winning the war." Chal explained. "How did you know?" Taus asked. "We had someone on the inside… where do you think we got the messages from?" Ithak replied with a sly smile. "Espionage? Didn't think that was the Priestess's way." Sauvix grinned. "We're not just pretty faces." Ithak chortled. Nokada cleared her throat to interrupt the little banter between Sauvix and Ithak. "As I was saying…" Nokada continued. "Skorge demanded that Galai's sect, better known as T'Chark's chosen, join him in summoning the Goddess." "T'Chark's no fool though." Ithak grunted. "Yes… she rejected them. The Chosen went insane, pleading for forgiveness from T'Chark, though Skorge didn't want them to be seen, he ordered all of the Chosen to be locked away." Nokada explained. "Our Kantus on the inside made a bid to rescue her during the confusion caused by what you've called Hollow Storm. We met up with him on the outskirts of the Nexus, but he didn't make it. Another Lambent ambush, we barely got away ourselves." "What of the rest of the Chosen?" Taus asked. "Committed suicide in their cells." Chal replied grimly. "She sometimes awakens, telling us of the things she's seen. One of the things she did bring up was how 'The Queen's Elite' saved her from Rampage and Slicer, along with the humans. We'd assumed it was just another Theron force, at the time, we didn't think she'd send Soul Killers for something like that." "If we'd known we would sending her to her death, I would've asked her to stay with us." Sauvix expressed bitterly. "She also mentions a Torgr… sometimes asking where he is." Chal added. Taus gulped as the sound of that, all eyes turned on him. Torgr, the young Neophyte under his wing, the one he always pushed to gain more "Battlefield experience". "Torgr was our Neophyte… my protégé so to speak." Taus explained weakly. "Not the bravest or the strongest, but I thought I could boost his confidence if he fought battles first hand… that only got him killed." Nokada put her hand over her mouth in shock, she could see the heartbroken look in Taus's eyes. "I left him to defend the Nexus with Krall and Braahk, by himself." Taus stuttered. "He didn't make it. It was my fault he died…" Sauvix took over the conversation for a minute to let Taus pick himself up. "Torgr was there when we rescued Galai." Sauvix added. "Along with Braahk, that's how she knew him." "I'm truly sorry for your loss Taus." Nokada sighed, bowing her head in respect. "I can't shake the blame… it's my fault. I shouldn't have left him alone." Taus stammered. "In her wakes, Galai tells us that Torgr seemed like a good soul… someone T'Chark could forgive." Chal expressed. Taus thought about that, Torgr was just an innocent being, hounded and tormented just because he wasn't the fearless, ruthless drone the Queen wanted him to be. Taus always thought by training him alongside the Elite Soul Killers, Torgr could become a hero and get back at his tormentors. He also thought about the lambent, the twisted, broken faces of the Lambent soldiers, screaming and roaring as they slaughtered the drones in the hundreds. Torgr was one of those victims. Taus couldn't let it get to him, he made a vow, all Lambent killed would be in Torgr's name. He knew those monsters were alive, he just knew it. "We can't keep her here for much longer." Ithak grunted. "Sooner or later, the humans are going to send more than just patrols… we need to find somewhere else to move!" "Where though?" Nokada uttered. "We can't move very far, what with Galai AND the youngling." Sauvix brushed past the "youngling part" and presented himself. "Our hideout in Landown." He suggested. "I'll admit I'm not a great fan of it, but it'll be safer than here." "That's right, come with us!" Taus added. "You'll be safe with us." The Priestess's looked surprised. They murmured to each other for a few seconds, then Nokada stepped forward. "You are sure we'll be safer with you?" She asked. "Our old headquarters would be a better choice, but our leader wouldn't approve." Sauvix hissed. "But yes, you'll be safe with us!" "I say we go with them." Ithak insisted "I agree." Chal urged. "Very well, you may take us to your hide out." Nokada decided. Suddenly, a noise occurred, sounding like someone was coming in, the priestess's rushed back to the entrance to their cave. Sauvix and Taus were about to join them, when they saw Braahk and Ara, along with the youngling, enter. "Where are the others?" Ara asked. "They're going back to the entrance, someone might be coming." Sauvix explained. Ara rushed over to join the others, while Braahk looked over Sauvix's shoulders and saw Galai. "Is her? Is Priestess we save?" He asked. "Yes, we'll explain later." Sauvix hastily replied. Though he stopped when he saw Braahk carrying the youngling. "Yes, I explain later." Braahk said. - Sauvix, Taus and Braahk rejoined the Priestess's in the main room, they appeared to be gathering round a new character that had entered. "Ferex, you're back!" Nokada cheered. "What took you?" While Braahk stepped forward to hand the youngling back to Ara. Sauvix examined the figure, it was a Theron guard, but the thing that surprised him was that she was a female breed. "We'll I'll be." Sauvix whispered. Female Therons were quite rare these days, Berserkers only ever seemed to produce males, it seemed to start when they began to birth large quantities of drones. Since then, only chance for Female Theron was if another Female and Male decided to reproduce, but once again, warfare got in the way. Physically, she looked like any other Theron, though her skin appeared to be smoother and her eyes weren't quite so sunk in, her jaw also didn't "gate wide" open when she expressed herself. "I had a little run in with the ground walkers." Ferex boasted, holding up her trophy, a severed Cog head, still wearing the helmet. Ferex examined the place and spotted the three newcomers. "Who are they?" She asked. "They are three Soul Killers, we found them near that road checkpoint, under siege from human soldiers." Chal explained. "Sauvix, Taus and Braahk." Sauvix introduced them to Ferex. She walked over and looked at them. "Weren't expecting you lot down here, thought you'd be sucking up to The Queen." Ferex taunted. "I'd sooner kiss a Bloodmount." Sauvix hissed. "Leave them Ferex, they're alright!" Ithak exclaimed. "Especially Sauvix, I'm liking him!" "She like Sauvix? She okay?" Braahk whispered to Taus, who tried to hold in laughing. "Good news Ferex, these Soul Killers are going to take us somewhere safer!" Nokada announced. "Can't go just yet, we've got to find Kolia." Ferex warned. "Where has she been?" Ithak demanded. "She went one way, I went the other, she didn't come back to the meeting point. She's got to be missing." Ferex explained. "Came back for some ammunition, Torque Bow's starting to run out." "I'll come with you!" Nokada told Ferex. "Me too!" Chal called out, stepping forward. "Why don't we help you?" Sauvix suggested. "Think you can keep up?" Ferex asked mockingly. "You don't believe in the stories then?" Sauvix grinned. Ferex gave Sauvix a quick stare, before nodding in agreement. "Very well then." She agreed She walked over left corner of the centre room and opened up a small chest, taking out Torque arrows, Gorgon clips and bolo Grenades. "Taus, why don't you take Ithak and Ara…" Sauvix started. "And little one!" Braahk said, stepping in. "Yes… and little one back to Hakar and Onwa, they're probably wondering where we've been." "Okay, I'll catch up to you." Taus replied. Taus then took Ithak and Ara outside, beginning the trek back to the other Soul Killers. Sauvix turned around and saw that Ferex was looking at him. "Did you say Hakar?" She asked. "Yes… why?" "N… Nothing, it's just an old friend of mine, Dessa, she used to know Hakar quite well… they were fairly close…" Ferex murmured. Sauvix and Braahk looked at each other, Braahk simply shrugged. "Ready?" Chal asked. Ferex nodded and lead the group back outside. -

You dig it!

Chapter 8

\- The rain appeared to be finally dying down, now it had turned to just a light drizzle. From the sound of it, the thunderstorm was getting further and further away, so luckily, it was just a passing storm. Everything was a bit brighter now and visibility was much more clear. While Sauvix, Taus and Braahk had gone in search of a certain scent, Zaach stayed behind with Hakar and Onwa to examine the ruins of the battle they had just had with the Cyron troops. The small squad of drones they had just encountered were preparing to leave, they would mount the 2nd Reaver to take them back to the mountain hideout, since the beast was large enough to carry Braahk, it could probably carry a couple of drones with ease. Zaach looked at Hakar as he chatted with Onwa, there was something about Hakar that was bothering Zaach. Again, it was the way Hakar snapped at him when he suggested pairing off with Sauvix and Taus. What was that all about? Granted, Hakar had always been a little… "Unstable" but he wouldn't take it out on Zaach, would he? Zaach shook his head, he decided he needed to take a walk, have a think about it. Though just as prepared to leave, he was stopped. "Stop!" Hakar yelled. Zaach turned around and saw Hakar approach him. "Where do you think you are going?" He demanded. "I just need to have a walk around." Zaach replied. "I need a think." "You're not going anywhere. That's an order." Hakar demanded. "I won't be long." Zaach added, raising an uneasy smile. Hakar then suddenly grabbed Zaach by the chest and forced him up against a tree, Zaach's hearts beat rapidly as Hakar almost got into his face. "I said that's an order!" Hakar barked. "Hakar!" Snapped Onwa, who had just tuned into the commotion. Hakar, realising what he had just done, let go of Zaach and took a deep breath. Zaach took a few steps back, a little shaken up by that action. "Alright fine!" Hakar growled. "But don't stray too far!" Zaach's look changed from fear to annoyance, he let out a groan and put on his Soul Killer helmet, before departing into the forests. Hakar was still taking in a few breaths when Onwa approached him, arms folded. "What was that?" he demanded. Hakar looked at Onwa, he was remembering what Priest Quaar had said. How Zaach had to be kept out of danger, but what was the danger though? It was starting to drive Hakar mad. "Just don't want to risk losing him." Hakar sighed. - Zaach moodily trudged through the forest, kicking stones and muttering to himself. "Don't stray to far?" He growled. "What does he think I am?" At first, Zaach was only a little curious about Hakar's actions, now, after that little display, he was annoyed. Don't stray too far, that was the sort of thing you said to animal in training, not an elite soldier! "He's talking to me like I'm some dumb youngling!" Zaach snapped. "I can take care of myself! By The Queen, HE taught me how to do it!" Zaach stopped his rant, as he could hear a noise, it sounded like the crackling of a campfire. He also heard a very faint voice, he couldn't make out all of it, though he did hear a "They've gone" and a "…ts safe." Zaach checked his Hammerburst before heading off in the direction of the voice. He stopped by two large trees surrounded by foliage, Zaach could hear the campfire on the other side of the bushes, as well as some sort of growling. Zaach pushed the bushes just enough so that he could see what was going on. Zaach saw what looked like a rugged Drone sitting on a rock, he seemed to wear the uniform of the old "Construction Corp" of the Locust, the builders, the one's always fixing, mending and building everything for The Queen. The Engineer was roasting a slab of meat over his campfire, while next to him, a Bloodmount sat patiently, growling and sniffing the cooked meat. Zaach peered forward just a little more, but he suddenly heard a crack, he looked down and saw he had just stepped on a twig. Zaach backed down and hid behind the bushes, but the engineer knew he was there, Zaach heard him draw a blade, besides, his Bloodmount was snarling. "Who's there?" The engineer demanded. "Come out, or I'll cut ya in half!" Zaach thought about it, he should just show himself, after all, they were both drones, they'd get each other. On the other hand, this one looked as though he'd been up here for quite some time, maybe he no longer took kindly to other Locust? The thing that bothered Zaach was that this engineer sounded familiar, like Zaach had met him before… Zaach put away his Hammerburst and stepped out of the bushes, hands in the air, The Bloodmount still growled, but the engineer had a look of shock on his face, he dropped his knife and went down onto his knees. "Oh by The Queen!" He sputtered. "I beg for forgiveness!" Zaach seemed a little confused. "I'm so sorry! I had no idea I was talking to the Elite of the horde! Please forgive me!" he pleaded. "You are… forgiven?" Zaach answered, sounding a little unsure, no one had ever asked HIM for forgiveness. "Thank yo… wait a minute!" The engineer began. "You sound familiar… have we met?" So Zaach sounded familiar to! They had met before, it had to be. "That is exactly what I was going to ask you, friend." Zaach replied, taking off his helmet. The Engineer's eyes suddenly bulged as Zaach showed his face. "Zaach? Is that you?" He gasped. This fellow knew Zaach! Zaach was a little surprised. "How do…" He began, but the engineer cut him off. "Zaach! It's me, Haulac! Remember?" The name rang a bell in Zaach's head, he remembered that name. Zaach took a closer look at the engineer and soon Zaach recognized him. It was indeed an old friend of his. "Haulac?!" Zaach gasped. "You're alive!" "My comrade!" Haulac cheered, suddenly giving Zaach a great big hug. Not as hard as Braahk's, but still pretty tough. The Bloodmount appeared to have calmed down, it seemed quite docile. "Last time I saw you, they had sent you up to the surface to fight the Oomons!" Haulac babbled, excited by seeing his old friend. "I thought you had been killed!" "Same with you!" Zaach replied. "I thought the death bringer had taken you!" "It wishes!" Haulac boasted. Zaach was so happy, he'd met up with an old friend of his! Back in the old days, Haulac was Zaach's best friend, the two of them stuck by each other through thick and thin. Though once they were forced into the army, it tore them away from each other, last Zaach saw of Haulac was when he was ordered up to his first mission on the surface, the two never saw each other after that, both assumed their friend had been killed. Zaach looked at the Bloodmount next to Haulac, it starred back at him, then let off a quick grunt. "I… see you have a companion." Zaach pointed out. "Oh yes, Snapper!" Haulac began. "Escaped from his cell, poorly built cell I might add. Anyway, I trained him and he's been a good guard ever since." "Impressive!" Zaach admired. "I thought only Beast riders could tame those creatures." "Ha! They make it sound like you've gotta rebuild the Palace from scratch!" Haulac boasted. "No, just a fatherly leadership, that's all it needs." Haulac rubbed the top of "Snapper's" head. He appeared to just sit back at let Haulac get on. "I notice you're wearing an engineer uniform." Zaach noted. He realised they had quite a lot of catching up to do. "Yeah, you remember our training days? I didn't do so well, both me and our… er… commanding officer agreed fighting wasn't my field. I told them I was good at building stuff, so The Queen herself enlisted me into the Construction Corp!" Haulac explained. "Lucky…" Zaach murmured to himself. "You see all those new buildings out side Nexus? All my work!" Haulac announced, quite pleased with himself. Zaach was a little thrown off, he'd been called back to the Nexus to hear about the plan to stop the humans from breaching the palace. To think, Haulac was there, alive and well, the two had completely missed each other. "Enough about me!" Haulac cheered. "How about you? Soul Killer huh?" "Yes, I suppose…" Zaach sighed. "Oh? You don't sound too happy!" Haulac noted. "It's just… there's something wrong with my commander." Zaach explained. "He's always supported me, now all of a sudden, he's treating me like some sort of dumb rookie! I can't leave his sight and he told me _not to stray too far!" _ "I see…" "Don't get me wrong, I respect him. It's just he taught me how to fight, now all of a sudden, I'm back to being a rookie that can't leave his sight!" Zaach sighed again and sat down on the rock by the campfire, Snapper appeared to sit next to him, looking at him with curiosity. "I got enough of that back in training…" - **Outer Hollow Training Grounds 2 Months before Lightmass bombing **. A Horde of Drones marched in perfect fashion as they followed two Theron Guard commanders. These drones were fresh off the training grounds, ready to fight and die in the name of The Queen. Their only objective, destroy the humans. Nearby, Zaach watched the marching go on, he too, had just come off the training grounds and was ready to fight. Behind him, Haulac watched as well, not quite as impressed as Zaach. "Soon I'll be fighting with them." Zaach announced. "Destroying our enemy in the name of The Queen." though from the sound of it, he didn't sound entirely sure. "Is this what you really want?" Haulac asked. "Of course!" Zaach snapped, sounding a little shaky. "It's every drones duty to fight for The Queen! I can do this!" "Are you sure you're doing this for her, and not to prove your father something?" Zaach stopped and gave Haulac and angry look. "Step-father." He barked. That's how it was for Zaach, he didn't like his step-father, one Major Vaark, and Major Vaark didn't care too much for Zaach either. Vaark was far too impressed with his own son to care about what his adopted one did. Zaach never knew who his real father was, apparently, he was birthed then just given to the Major to raise and prepare for the army. Though Vaark had no confidence in Zaach, he thought Zaach couldn't handle that kind of fighting, Zaach joined up anyway, just to prove him wrong. "Well, if you're sure…" Haulac said. "Though I can't do that kind of thing…" "You'll get there." Zaach replied. "He'll do better than you anyway!" taunted a voice. Zaach perked up and turned around to see the aggressor. A quite attractive Theron in Palace Guard uniform, armed with that prize possession Torque Bow. "Darak" Zaach hissed. One Darak, Major Vaark's biological son. The bane of Zaach's existence. The very mention of Darak's name filled Zaach's mouth with bile. "Zaach in the army? Don't make me laugh!" Darak mocked. "He couldn't fight a wretch!" Zaach clenched his fists and was about to approach Darak, but Haulac held him back. "Leave us Darak." Haulac snapped. "This isn't any of your concern." "Just thought I'd come to wish my step-brother luck, he's going to need it!" "You-!" Zaach was about to snap, but suddenly, a voice called him over. "Zaach!" it boomed, Zaach turned back to see it was one Major Sidorax, he appointed commanding officer. Zaach clenched his teeth and stormed over to his superior, he could hear Darak laughing behind him. Zaach just gritted his teeth and tried his best to ignore the slurs. Sidorax lead Zaach to a small cave mouth, where a Grenadier stood near a smelter, he had a branding iron with the Locust emblem as the shape. This was a stage all new recruits went through, officially branding them into the army. "I'm not interested in your petty affairs." Sidorax announced. "As of now, you put that all behind you! You are a soldier in The Queen's army! You will live that way and you will die that way!" Zaach nodded and saw the Grenadier dump the brander into the smelter, watching the symbol change bright orange. Zaach knew this was going to hurt, but one major rule they had to follow was that Drones never show weakness, they can't show fear or pain. He had to hold out his left arm as the Grenadier pulled a pair of goggles and took the brander out of the smelter. Now glowing an almost blinding bright orange, Zaach could only gulp as the Brander went for his left shoulder. The searing heat sent a tremendous amount of pain into Zaach's arm. Zaach turned away and clenched his teeth, he though if he didn't see the brander, it wouldn't hurt as much. Sadly, it was almost unbearable as the brander was pushed further into his shoulder. "Drones don't feel pain… Drones don't feel pain…" Zaach said to himself in his head. After a few agonizing seconds, the brander was taken off his arm, Zaach looked back to see the Locust emblem had been burnt onto his shoulder. The scorch marks would soon settle, but it still stung like hell. "Pathetic." Zaach heard Sidorax murmur. Not wanting to stick around any longer, Zaach picked himself up and hurried out. He rejoined Haulac, who had been waiting for him, alas, a certain someone else had also been waiting. "Weren't scared were you?" Darak mocked. Zaach just ignored him. As Zaach stormed away, he heard one last taunt. "Don't stray too far! Don't want you getting hurt!" Darak barked, before laughing. Zaach angrily slammed his fist into the ground. - Back in the present, Zaach just starred at the campfire, it reminded him of that branding, which in turn, reminded him of his old training days, how that bastard Darak used to mock and taunt him, thinking he was so superior just because he had made it to Palace guard rank. It was probably because of him that Zaach hated Palace Guards. Zaach rolled up his sleeve to see the old branded symbol, still there, forever placing him as a soldier. "Forgot about it!" Haulac announced. "If it's any help, at least you know Darak is dead." "The only one who deserved it." Zaach replied darkly. Zaach then noticed that Haulac was looking around, like something was agitating him. "Listen, I know this isn't the right time, but I have a favour to ask." Zaach perked up, a favour, now? What could it be? "What?" Zaach asked. "There's a human settlement nearby." Haulac explained, pointing to Zaach's left. "I go there to scavenge supplies. Could you go with me? I could use the extra protection." Zaach thought about it. Didn't Hakar order him not to take too long? Or… Stray too far… Forgot it, Zaach thought. At the moment, he didn't care what Hakar had to say, he brushed all those thoughts aside and decided to help his friend. "Sure… let's go." Zaach and Haulac picked themselves up and prepared to leave. "Stay here and guard the cave Snapper." Haulac said to the Bloodmount. "I won't be long." Snapper appeared to nod. - Zaach and Haulac prepared to leave, what they didn't realise was that a certain pair of eyes were watching them. Slicer observed them move through a pair of binoculars. Haulac, he wasn't really interested in, it was Zaach. Not just a Soul Killer, a Soul Killer he had met before. "Vhat? Impossible!" Slicer growled. "How can he be alive?!" Slicer put down his binoculars and pulled out a Gorgon pistol. "So, Ze Overseers vere right, Ze Soul Killers are alive!" Slicer observed. "And zhis one is heading towards ze others in zhat town!" "I better inform Rampage… he better not rub it in though!"

Awesome!

Chapter 9

\- _"Epsilon? Epsilon do you read?" "Gamma, this is Epsilon. What is your status?" "Still no sign of the missing Ravens, or the squads that were sent to look for them." "Bet you any money Soul Killers got to them… god damn it." "Don't worry, we'll make em pay!" "Anything else to report?" "We met up with a couple of Cyron soldiers. They got separated from the rest of their guys, so they're helping us with our search." "Copy that, any resistance?" "Just Locust stragglers, mostly Drones, ran into the odd Theron Guard once or twice." "Need any help?" "Negative, we've got it covered. It's pretty… wha?!" "Gamma? Gamma?! What's wrong?!" "What the…?! Well who they hell are they?! They're not Locust!" Oh god! OH GOD!" "Gamma! Gamma! Come in! What the hell is going on?!" "…" "GAMMA!" - _ Surrounded by nothing but darkness and hidden somewhere in the caves of Sera, two figures stood perfectly still, clad in long, torn robes with veil's covering their faces, showing only their glowing green eyes. "Have our Acolytes ascended?" One figure asked. "They have." The second replied. "We must see if now is the time to strike against the human menace, now that the traitors no longer pose a threat to us." "What of The Soul Killers? We know they still live." "Rampage and Slicer will destroy them, if not, The Emissaries can take over." Suddenly, a third figure joined in, he wore much darker robes than the other two, appearing to be the leader. "Brothers, our time is near!" He announced, his voice being very deep and menacing. "Might the humans prove to be a tougher opposition?" One of the figures asked. "They dug their own grave when they sunk their so called 'Bastion of hope' though you may be right." The leader responded. "We shall see what our Acolytes say…" - The rain had finally died down, it seemed as though it was just another passing storm, though this one was much heavier than the others the Locust had ran into. Aside from the odd spit and the occasional clap of thunder in the distance, there was only a grey, overcast sky above them. Sauvix and Braahk joined with Ferex, Nokada and Chal as they went to a nearby town, apparently, another member of their group may have been stranded there. Meanwhile, Taus had taken Galai, Ithak, Ara and the youngling to meet with Hakar and Onwa. The group could see a small town just up ahead, the type of place where people lived simply, but peacefully, a kind of rest stop village. "This is where you and Kolia went to?" Nokada asked. "Yes, she wasn't meant to be here long, humans patrols always seem to come by the towns!" Ferex explained. "And yet she still came here because…?" Sauvix questioned. "You try scavenging for survival, rather than just fetching the bone the Queen throws for you!" Ferex hissed. Both Sauvix and Braahk didn't really take well to that comment, they both gave her a angry look. "Let's not start that again." Nokada ordered. "They're in the same position as us now." Chal added. Ferex turned to the two Priestess's and shrugged. "Now they can learn." Trying their best to get along, Ferex continued to lead them towards the town. Braahk kept turning around, making sure no one would try and strike them from behind. They soon reached the entrance, only to be greeted by a mixed pile of dead bodies, some Cog, some Locust. Sauvix knelt down and examined the corpses. "Hmm… quite recent wounds." He observed. "They kill each other?" Braahk asked. "Maybe, or maybe there was some kind of third party involved in this fight." "Probably humans called Stranded." Nokada pointed out. "Kind of like us, only more daring." "That meaning?" Sauvix asked. "They actually dare to attack human squads unprovoked, we only attack out of necessity." Chal explained. "Well, whoever did it will probably strike us next! So let's not stand around doing nothing!" Ferex ordered. Just as everyone began to move, Ferex suddenly stopped them again and went over to Braahk. "You stay here!" Ferex commanded. "What! Why?" Braahk asked. "We can't risk being spotted! We'll only need you if we run into trouble, for the time being, take cover in there!" Ferex snapped, pointing to a fairly large building to her right. "Then why allow him to come all together?" Sauvix jeered. "He'll do for an Emergency, but for the time being, we stay undercover? Got it?" Braahk sighed and reluctantly nodded, he went over to the building and checked the inside, there didn't seem to be any sign of any threats inside, so he could take cover there for the time being. "Still doesn't make much sense." Sauvix whispered to Chal. "That's Ferex for you, she's a little strange like that." Chal pointed out. "She's always gets one of us to hide somewhere as backup." "Security conscious?" "Probably." Ferex coughed to get the attention of Sauvix and Chal, she made a hand signal to order them to get moving. - At the same time, somewhere near the sides of the village, Haulac lead Zaach towards it, he was on a scavenging mission of his own and wanted Zaach as back up. "This is where I've been collecting stuff." Haulac said. "Plenty of stuff, for such a small place." "Don't you run into trouble?" Zaach asked. "Once or twice, but I get away, that's why I got you with me now, right?" "Right." Zaach looked back, he was starting to have second thoughts about doing this, what would Hakar say? Then again, he had plenty of time to worry about that later. "Where do we start?" Zaach asked. "There's a building right up ahead, come on, I'll show you it. Zaach nodded and followed Haulac, he had apparently been getting into this town with a small hole he had dug, which lead to the interior of a building. Haulac and Zaach climbed down the little emergence hole. Unknown to them, a pair of eyes watched them… - Ferex kept leading the group down the streets of the town, it felt kind of strange, save for the gusts of wind, there was a very eerie silence hanging in the air. They kept passing the dead bodies of Cog and Locust soldiers, one drone looked absolutely battered, his body riddled with bullet holes. "Quite a fight here." Chal pointed out. "Question is, who won?" Sauvix uttered. That comment seemed to make Chal gulp a little. Nokada turned to one of the walls of a building, something had caught her attention, she suggested that everyone come take a look. It was writing, graffiti written on the walls of a building, it was very poorly spelt, though that wasn't what caught her attention, it was what was written. "UR DEAD SOUL KILLAS" "Oh charming." Sauvix hissed through clenched teeth. "Wanted?" Ferex grinned. Everyone stopped for a second as they heard a noise, several small footsteps. They retreated inside the building that had the graffiti written on it, Chal poked her head out and saw a band of Feral Wretches, they had smelt one of the corpses and were now devouring a couple of dead drones. "Best avoid them" Chal warned. "We're just a meal to them, besides, we don't know what they could be carrying." Everyone nodded in agreement and slammed the slightly wobbly door behind them. They turned back to see they had enetered yet another remnant of a fight scene. Dead Cogs leaning against the walls, dead drones lying on the floor, no sign of any rot flies, so once again, this battle seemed to be quite recent. More graffiti stained the walls, again, saying things like "SURRENDER SOUL KILLERS" and "YOU'LL PAY" and a strange one that said. "UR GONNA GIT KILED!" Obviously, all those years of watching their fellow Gears get slaughtered by the dozen angered these people… causing their spelling and vocabulary to decline. The artwork had to be viewed later, as suddenly, everyone caught the smell of something, they couldn't quite put their finger on what it was, but it smelled familiar. "It… can't be!" Nokada gulped. Everyone followed the trail of the odour, they tracked it through the building until they reached what looked like the back entrance, they could see through the back doors, taking cover at the sides, Nokada peered outside. Her fears came true… Dark ones. A small crowd of Lambent Drones stood around, looking triumphant over a group of dead Locust Drones. They looked much different now, from what Nokada could see, the Lambent drones now looked more hunchbacked, their lower jaws seemed to have almost fused to their chests, while their skin was much more charred and burnt looking. The Imulsion running through their veins glowed more prominently. Two Lambent Drones appeared to be dragging someone to a church only a few feet away from them, nobody could make out who it was, as a third Lambent stood in the way, blocking the view of the victim. Out of the church doors, a new figure emerged. Nokada and Chal instantly recognized the creature. "An Acolyte? Here?" Chal gasped. "You've met that thing before?" Sauvix whispered. "Only once, they're very rarely appear in battle, though when they do… The Dare One's grow stronger." The Acolyte wore a long, hooded black robe with torn and tattered brown trouser like leggings. The hood obscured it's face, but it's clear white, skull like Jaw and Nose could be made out. Perhaps as a sign of corruption, it wore a twisted, more broken version of the trinity of worms emblem jewellery around it's neck. Acolytes were thought to be the dark followers of the so called "Lambent Overseers" acting as their students. Acolytes very rarely entered battle, though when they did, they could guide and control the Lambent monsters to victory. The Acolyte looked at the victim the two Lambent Drones had presented to him, he shook his head in disappointment and pulled out a Boltok Pistol. The third Lambent standing in the way finally moved. To everyone's horror, it was Kolia. The Acolyte shot her squarely in the head, she fell on her back, blood oozing out of her wound. Before anyone could do anything, a sudden bullet whizzed right past the group, Sauvix turned to see a squad of Cogs approaching! "There they are!" The Cog yelled. "They must have got to Gamma!" In a moment of not thinking straight, the group ran out of the backdoors and rushed over to the building opposite, catching the attention of all the Lambent. Ferex pulled out a Gnasher Shotgun and blasted a Lambent Drone that got to close, he split in half and his body collapsed, the Imulsion ran from his body and entered another Lambent. Slamming the door behind them, Nokada and Chal instantly began to take whatever furniture was in this house and make a makeshift barricade. They could hear the commotion between the Lambent and the Gears, who had followed the group outside. Ferex peered out the window to see that while the Gears were putting up a good fight, the Lambent were easily overwhelming them. The Acolyte also quite casually walked over to the building, while a few other Lambent Drones stormed over. "That Grinder of yours better find his way here!" Ferex snapped. "Weren't you the one that told him to stay put?" Sauvix jeered. "Not now!" Nokada barked. Putting both Ferex and Sauvix in their places. "Don't worry, he can sense a good fight…" Sauvix reassured. - "That sound like battle!" Braahk boomed, hearing the sounds of distant gunfire. "Friends in trouble!" Braahk readied his Mulcher and prepared to go to battle, he saw a passageway to his left which seemed to go further into the building. Not really thinking straight, Braahk went down that passageway. He suddenly saw that it had taken him to a large lobby, with all kinds of tipped over furniture. Right in the centre, a Cog squad turned and saw Braahk. "Get him!" Yelled the voice of a fiery, human female that seemed to be the leader of the squad. Braahk had to duck back around the corner as the Gears opened fire. "Come on! Kill that stupid beast!" The squad leader shouted. "What you call me?!" Bellowed Braahk, not very happy about being called stupid. Braahk revved his Mulcher and turned around the corner, he opened fire, gunning down several Gears with ease. A few of them managed to retreat out the doors, going back outside. Braahk attempted to follow them. Although a Gear intervened, he rushed out a side passage that Braahk had failed to spot, but Braahk quickly caught the Gear by the neck. The Gear choked and struggled in the giant's grip. "NO! NOT WANT YOUR BOTHER!" Braahk snarled. Braahk dragged the Gear back through the passage he came from, which was a "Gents Room". Braahk simply slammed the Gear head first down a toilet, angered by interference, the body went limp and Braahk continued. The big Grinder stormed outside and opened fire, spraying bullets from left to right, roaring all the way. When he finally stopped, he saw that most of the Gears had all been killed, there was pretty much no cover out here, so they had been trying to retreat, but Braahk had been gunned down. Save for one, the one that called him a stupid beast, she was down on her knees, badly injured. Braahk stomped over to her. He grabbed her by the neck and gave her an furious look. "You pay!" Braahk shoved her face first into the barrel of his Mulcher and began to rev up… -

A Lambent Drone forced it's way through one of the windows, smashing head first and breaking the glass, it showed no sign of pain as it tried to climb over the ledge. Though Ferex, armed with a Shotgun, blasted the creature before it could come in. Another tried to get through a different window, though Sauvix, armed with his scorcher, sent the creature packing, he heard its twisted screams as it's burning corpse fell back outside. Both Ferex and Sauvix had to keep pushing the Lambent back as Nokada and Chal took cover, Boltok bullets and the odd Lancer bullet shot through the weakened walls of the house. Checking outside, it seemed as though The Gears had been defeated by the Lambent, their shredded corpses lay scattered outside, now the remaining Lambent were turning their attention to the Locust. Locust scorched another Lambent drone, he had to duck for a minute to reload, but a Boltok bullet whizzing right by him startled him, jamming his reload. "Curses!" He growled. "I'll cover you!" Chal shouted. Chal leapt out of cover, armed with a Gorgon Pistol, Nokada tried to stop her, but she ran over to Sauvix's window and began firing at the Lambent, taking one or two of them down. Then, a Boltok bullet whizzed straight at the window and hit Chal in the neck. "NO!" screamed Nokada. Nokada ran over to aid her friend, while Ferex whipped out her Torque Bow and hit a charging Lambent Drone. Sauvix managed to save his reload and fired another jet of flame. Alas, there was nothing that could be done for Chal, she died when she hit the ground. The sound of a Bolo Grenade rolling towards them was heard, Sauvix and Ferex rushed away from the windows, while Nokada managed to carry her dead friend back to cover. The Door exploded, as the smoke cleared, the Acolyte stood in the doorway, armed with his Boltok, he let out a low groan and shot at Ferex, who, despite being in cover, dropped her Torque Bow. Though this gave Nokada a opening, she picked up Chal's Gorgon and leapt out of cover, taking the Acolyte by surprise. She fired a burst at his chest, which caused him to stumble. Using those seconds she delivered a kick to the Acolyte's chest, sending him back outside. The Acolyte tried to get back up, but Nokada shot him straight in his head, killing him. The Imulsion crept out of his body and rushed over to some incoming Lambent. Nokada was forced to duck back inside, as they were now carrying weapons, scavenged off the bodies nearby. Though luckily, the sound of a Mulcher firing could be heard the moment she stepped back in. Everyone perked up as more sounds were caught in the air, the sounds of bullets hitting bodies, bodies hitting the floor and of course, a Grinder's roar. After a few seconds pause, all was quiet, Sauvix picked himself up and walked over to the doorway, sure enough, Braahk stood triumphant over the dead Lambent. "You wish you bring me now!" Braahk cheered. "I kill them!" "By himself?" Ferex asked, genuinely surprised. "You don't know him like we do." Sauvix replied. Ferex and Sauvix turned around to see Nokada was kneeling next to Chal's body, she held out a trinity of worms emblem and chanted an ancient Dirge as a sign of respect to the fallen Priestess. "Let's leave her be." Ferex suggested. "They prefer to be alone when one of their own die." Sauvix agreed and let Ferex take him outside, where they met up with Braahk. Braahk was going to say something, but he chose not to, as Sauvix and Ferex were engrossed in examining the dead Lambent bodies. "So they are alive… Taus was right." Sauvix said. "But how? How did they survive the humans sinking Jacinto?" Ferex spluttered. "I fear how they survived is the least of our concerns…" Sauvix gulped. - Meanwhile, in one of the buildings further down the town, Haulac and Zaach had entered through the small emergence hole Haulac had made. It allowed him to get into this building and the town without much hassle. The building they were in was some kind of rest stop for humans, it seemed to have plenty of bottled drinks, as well as places to sit down. Haulac was busy scavenging whatever he could find, all this time on the surface, he seemed to have taken a liking to some of the stuff here. Zaach, however, had his mind elsewhere, he looked out one of the windows, something was bothering him. "No matter how many times I raid this place, there's plenty more for me to grab." Haulac chuckled, though Zaach didn't reply. "You okay?" Haulac asked. "I thought I heard gunshots… like a fire fight." Zaach replied. "I don't want any trouble, any quarrels between humans and others is no concern of mine." Haulac admitted. "Oh?" "Survival of the fittest, that's what it's all about up here." As Haulac continued to scavenge, something else caught Zaach's attention, a familiar feeling and the smell of Imulsion. It took Zaach by surprise, it was coming from nearby. Zaach cautiously crept over to what was the front door of the building, when suddenly, it was kicked down, the door hit Zaach and sent him on his back. Haulac looked up to see the aggressor. It was the Lambent Warrior Slicer, armed with a Lancer Assault Rifle. Slicer revved up the blade and brought it down on Zaach, but the quick thinking Zaach pulled out his Hammerburst and forced it against Slicer's blade. Sparks flew as the blade slowly cut into the gun. "What in?!" Haulac screamed. "Get out of here!" Zaach ordered. "But…" "NOW!" Haulac had no choice, he made a running leap for one of the windows, smashing right through it and beating a retreat. Zaach managed to force his Hammerburst forward, knocking Slicer back. But the Lambent Warrior wasn't going down, Zaach picked himself up, but had to duck and dodge as Slicer kept swinging his blade, cutting various furniture in the process. "Hold still traitor!" Slicer barked. Slicer swung one more time, but his blade got wedged into a counter, as Slicer tried to pull it out, Zaach managed to tackle Slicer to the ground. With the Lambent Warrior down, Zaach managed to punch him the face twice. Before Zaach could strike again, another fist slammed into his back, sending him flying across the room, Zaach crashed into a wall, side first. In pain, but refusing to show it, Zaach looked up to see that Slicer's partner, Rampage, had joined the fray. "Traitor!" Rampage bellowed. "How dare you stand in the way of our glorious ascension!" Oh no! Zaach couldn't take on Rampage! Slicer alone was a tough enough proposition as it was, but Rampage was too much. A giant, hulking brute of a Lambent with enough strength to take down a Brumak, together, the two would destroy him, it was time to beat a hasty retreat of his own. Zaach had to dive out of the way as Slicer opened fire, peppering the very spot he was lying in with bullets, while an ever closer call came by as Zaach ducked out of the way of a Boomshot rocket, fired by Rampage. Seeing a different window, Zaach dived out of it. "Pursue him!" Rampage commanded. "Vhat of ze other one?" Slicer asked. "Bah! That Soul Killer is more important!" Rampage exclaimed. "Besides, we can destroy that other piece of filth at our leisure!" - Haulac ran out of the town as fast as he could, his hearts beating like crazy. Lambent? Here? How did they survive? All those questions were pushed aside by one worry, Zaach. He ordered Haulac to run away, get out while he still could. He should've stayed! Zaach wouldn't have been able to take on that Lambent! But then what could he do? He was just a simple engineer, not a fighter! Haulac suddenly collapsed onto his knees, puffing and panting, he was quite exhausted. Suddenly, he heard something fly overhead, he looked up to see two Reavers hovering above him, Haulac waved his arms to get their attention. - Zaach ducked and dodged past trashed human cars as Rampage and Slicer chased after him, Slicer was trying to gun down Zaach, while Rampage bashed all the obstacles out of his way. At one point, Zaach skidded around a sharp left turn, narrowly missing another Boomshot rocket. He had to ignore the pain burning in his back, Rampage had delivered quite a punch. A car was flung right over him, crashing in his path and blocking off his escape, Zaach had to make another sharp turn, but when he did, he found that it lead straight to a brick wall, both Lambent and herded him towards a dead end! Zaach could only turn as Rampage and Slicer stormed towards him, in a futile attempt to defend himself, Zaach threw a punch, but Slicer caught his hand and kicked Zaach in the chest, sending down on the ground. Zaach could only watch as both Lambent loomed over him. "You deserve to die!" Rampage roared. "However, maybe you are merely misguided." "You should thank us, for ve are about to grant you redemption!" Slicer grinned. "Instead of destroying like we should, we shall purge you of your traitorous body, and have you re-incarnated into a loyal servant of the Overseers!" Zaach could only tremble as Slicer took off a glove and showed Zaach his twisted left hand, his fingers were almost like spikes, he would use them to inject Imulsion into his victims. "You vill thank us soon!" Slicer cackled. Though before he could strike, something exploded right behind them, sending the two Lambent flying forwards and crashing into the wall, Zaach ducked as both went over him. He shook himself and saw that once the smoke had cleared, the dead end wall was demolished and he saw who had saved him. A Reaver… their Reaver! It was Hakar and Onwa! Onwa was piloting while Hakar manned the gun, thinking only about his Survival, Zaach rushed over to the Reaver as Hakar opened fire at Rampage and Slicer, who were trying to get back. Rampage picked up a car and used it as a makeshift shield, while Slicer hid behind him, popping up only to shoot off a few bullets. Zaach mounted the Reaver, just as Hakar switched back to rockets. He fired at the Lambent's feet, causing them stumble and making Rampage drop the car. Hakar fired a few more rockets at them, sending them crashing down a crater. Sure the enemy had been defeated, The Reaver took off. - In the nearby streets, another Acolyte surveyed the damage done, dead Cogs and Locust say scattered around, though from what he sensed that one of his brethren had been killed. He wasn't sure who'd done it, but the answer came. He looked up to the sky and saw a Reaver fly away, he had just seen one fly away earlier, though it was much bigger and carrying more crew. The Acolyte put his hand to the side of his head and chanted. "Not…yet…time." - Emerging from the crater, Rampage and Slicer picked themselves up, they were a little charred, but otherwise, still standing. Rampage furiously kicked the debris and dust away from him. "The Soul Killers will pay for that insult!" He roared. Slicer was still putting himself together, he dusted off his helmet and armour and readjusted his eye piece. "Ve know zhey are alive, but might zhey try and move?" He asked. "I do not think so, we still do not know where they are hiding. So they may risk staying put!" Rampage explained. "So vhat do you propose ve do now?" "We must find a way of luring them out of hiding." Slicer thought about it, that might prove difficult. "Let us return to our masters! We will…" Rampage was going to say, but he was suddenly cut off, the Imulsion running through his body began to glow again. Rampage groaned in pain as he clenched his head. "Vhat? Vhat is happening?!" Slicer demanded. All of a sudden, small dorsal fin like organs sprouted from Rampage's back, starting at the back of his neck and stopping at his coccyx, smaller spikes sprouted at the top of his head, looking like a Mohawk, finally, two horns burst from the sides of his head. He was mutating further. The mutation stopped and the Imulsion died down, Rampage shook himself. "…We will devise our plan there." he continued, completely oblivious to what happened. Rampage looked at Slicer, who had a look of astonishment on his face. "What?" He asked. "Oh… Nothzing!"

Like Ze accent!

Chapter 10

"Jareek… Jareek?" whispered a voice. Jareek was half asleep, lying on the floor of his shack. He groaned and tried to pick himself up, he thought he could hear a voice calling his name. "Jareek… get up brother!" Brother? Jareek suddenly shook his head and opened his eyes, he couldn't believe it. His brother Bohvak, still clad in his armour, helmet and mask, stood before him. "Come on Brother! Lambent are coming!" Bohvak warned. "B…Brother?" Jareek babbled. "The Lambent Jareek! They're coming! We've got to fight them!" At that moment, Bohvak ran out of the shack, Jareek could only stutter as he picked up his Boltok and raced after Bohvak. "Bohvak!" He called. The moment Jareek stepped outside, there was no sign of Bohvak anywhere, just the grey sky, the cold wind and the odd Locust walking around. A Dream. Jareek angrily kicked the ground and threw his Boltok on the floor. - The Reaver returned to the Locust's Landown hiding spot, several Locust came out of their shakes and the small cave mouth to see what was going on, though they got back to business once they saw who it was. Hakar, Onwa, Zaach and Haulac all climbed off the Reaver. Hakar appeared to turn away and start talking to Onwa, though Zaach trembled ever so slightly, it was then did he realise that he had disobeyed Hakar. Normally, that wouldn't be a problem, but something had caused Hakar to go a little tense, who knows what he would do? "That your leader?" Haulac asked. "That's Hakar." Zaach gulped. "Why don't I take the blame for you?" Haulac suggested. "It was me that coaxed you into coming with me." "Thank you, but no, I'll take it." Haulac shrugged and stepped back, he didn't know much about Hakar, but from what he saw, Hakar looked like the kind of Locust not to mess around with. Oh sure, Haulac had heard all the stories about how The Soul Killers decimated entire legions of human soldiers, though it wouldn't surprise him if it was Hakar doing all the killing, while the rest just sat back and watched. Zaach looked up to see the second Reaver land, Taus, Braahk, Sauvix, a Priestess and another Theron all dismounted from the creature. "Where would Ithak and Ara be?" Nokada asked Taus. "I told them they could reside in those shacks over there." Taus replied, pointing to his right. "Thank you, I have to inform them of our loss." Nokada then bowed her head and went over to the direction that Taus pointed in. She had to inform them that both Kolia and Chal had been killed. "Sorry for the delay." Taus smiled to Zaach. "Not only did I have to get everyone back, but I had to keep a steady pace to let this one keep up." Behind them, a Bloodmount suddenly climbed up over the rocks and let roll towards everyone. The Bloodmount shook itself and turned straight to Haulac. "Snapper! You found me?!" Haulac gasped in both surprise and joy. "Found him wondering around, he seemed eager to follow us, so I let him." Taus explained. "Clever thing." Ferex added. Everyone let Haulac and Snapper get on with their happy reunion, while Ferex looked around, she saw how most Locust were a shaken up, but otherwise, they seemed okay. So this was how The Soul Killers were surviving, up in the mountains with a couple of others. "Not a bad hideout." Ferex said to Sauvix. "It wasn't my first choice, but our leader said we needed to protect these denizens as well." Sauvix replied. Ferex looked around a little more until she the sight of Hakar suddenly caught her attention. She stood dead still and starred at The Soul Killer leader for a few moments, something had twigged. She slapped Sauvix's shoulder to get his attention. "Is that Hakar?" She hissed. "That's him, yes. Our leader." Sauvix responded. "Why?" "Just… interested." Sauvix shook his head at that, he could tell from her body language and her tone of voice that she was holding something back, she knew more about Hakar than she was letting on. Ferex did mention that Hakar knew a "Dessa" was it? Though for the time being, Sauvix just let it slip, besides, he best not ask Hakar anything about his past, especially at this time. Everyone started to walk away, Zaach figured he best lay low for a while, though before he could get a chance, he suddenly felt someone VERY strong grab him by the shoulder. Zaach's lower lip trembled as he turned around and saw Hakar. "Zaach… a word." He growled. Ferex suddenly stopped again, she turned around and saw Hakar leading Zaach to one of the shacks. "Z…Zaach?" She asked herself. She squinted her eyes to take another look at Zaach. "No… it can't be! Surely not!" She burbled. - Zaach could feel his hearts beat rapidly as he stepped inside the shack Hakar had taken him to. What was he going to say? Hopefully Zaach could at least try to explain what he was doing, maybe add in the fact that Zaach had rescued another survivor. Hakar had his back turned, he appeared to take a deep breath and stand perfectly still. Though that didn't last long. Just as Zaach was about to open his mouth, Hakar rushed towards him, grabbed him by the shoulders and pinned him up against the wall. Zaach's hearts were REALLY going fast now. "I don't know what you were playing at, but I gave you a direct order not to stray too far!" Hakar growled. Zaach tried to explain, but he was way too scared to even get any words out, all that came out of his mouth were some pathetic whimpers. "Straying away from us was reckless and stupid! What In T'Chark's name were you thinking?!" Hakar snarled. "H…H… I… Ah… Err…" Zaach stuttered. "You idiot! You could've been killed! If you had, I wouldn't know what to…" Hakar then suddenly slowed down, his breathing sounded normal and he appeared to loosen his grip on Zaach. Zaach instantly collapsed before Hakar and could only watch as Hakar appeared to mouth words, but not actually say them. Hakar then closed his eyes and grabbed the bridge of his nose. "Just… go! Leave me!" Hakar ordered. Zaach scurried away as fast as he could. - A little later, Zaach sat on a rock outside, he could still feel his hearts going like crazy. That certainly shook him up. He could remember the last time Hakar went at him like that, when he bought up the name "Marcus Fenix" the human that killed his father RAAM. Though it wasn't just him Hakar had a go at, Onwa bought it up and Hakar lashed out at him. Though why straying away was such a problem, he didn't know, Hakar was keeping something from everyone. Though for the time being, the only thing Zaach thought about was keeping out of Hakar's way, HOPEFULLY he would calm down. Onwa's Reaver strolled over towards Zaach, curious, it nudged his side. Zaach almost jumped because of that, though he was glad to see it was just the Reaver. It made a low purring noise as it starred right at him. Zaach sighed as he gently rubbed the top of it's head. "Went bad?" asked a voice, Zaach looked to his left to see Haulac walking over. "You… could say that." Zaach stuttered. Haulac sat next to him. "You look as though you just saw a swarm of Lambent! That bad?" "He… certainly let me know what I did wrong." "Always were the one for disobeying orders." Haulac joked, though when he saw the look on Zaach's face, he realised that it wasn't quite the time. "Hakar's always had a thing for losing comrades, he always holds the blame for when they die." Zaach explained. "Though why I'm so important, I don't know." "You think there's something going on?" Haulac noted. "There's definitely something he's not telling me." Zaach sighed. Zaach kept rubbing the Reaver's head, it purred quite happily, then it nudged Zaach again, implying it wanted feeding. Zaach let out a deep breath and took the Reaver to be fed. Unknown to the fact that Onwa had been listening in on his conversation. Curious, he went to Hakar's shack. - Hakar was deep in thought, he didn't mean to snap at Zaach like that, but not only had he disobeyed an order, he'd almost got himself killed! Those words Priest Quaar had said to him. "You must protect him! Do not allow him to be caught by danger!" Yet Quaar wouldn't say what. That was driving him mad, what would happen? Where was this danger? Because of how vague the Priest was, Hakar had to keep his eye on Zaach at all times. What was worse was that Hakar had grown quite attached to Zaach, seeing him evolve from just another Locust Drone to a powerful Soul Killer, the two had quite a bond. Hakar then heard footsteps behind him, he didn't really want to deal with anyone at this time. "What is it? I need to rest." Hakar asked. He turned around and his expression changed from tiresome to surprised. Ferex stood before him, arms folded. "Hello Hakar, remember me?" She asked. Hakar stood up, totally surprised. "Let me be more precise, remember me and my good friend Dessa?" She asked again, sounding slightly more impatient. "I… didn't know you were still alive." Hakar stuttered. "It isn't me you should be worried about, you still remember Dessa right?" Ferex barked. "Of course! She was a close friend!" "And how that friendship lead you to what you did to her…" Ferex added darkly. Hakar stepped forward and got into Ferex's face, he towered over her. "She let me…" He hissed. "That isn't the problem, what I want to know is, why afterwards, you left her." Ferex snapped. "It wasn't my fault." Hakar growled. "She never heard from you. Even a Soul Killer would have time for their friends on that outside." "The Queen used me constantly, I never got a chance to contact her." Hakar protested. "Right, running around and around for The Queen, like some sort of tamed animal!" Ferex mocked. "Don't give me that! You know as well as I do you had plenty of opportunities to find Dessa again, yet you were too fixated with serving The Queen." "Ferex…I…" Hakar tried to say, but Ferex cut him off. "I just wanted to say that… I've got nothing else." Ferex then left the shack, leaving Hakar standing there, not sure what to think. The moment she was out of sight, Hakar angrily punched the wall of his shack, splitting a large hole. He let out a pained and angry snarl as he sat back down and closed his eyes, going deep in thought. As Onwa listened in…

Grab Ze popcorn

Chpater 11

Hakar sat alone in his shack, his head buried into the palms of his hands. He was deep in thought as old memories he had long forgotten suddenly came flooding back to him in the form of seeing Ferex. Of course, Ferex wasn't really the one he was thinking about, no, it was more about her friend, a Theron named Dessa. He met her after his father had sent him for training in the Theron Guard, who were, at the time, guardians of the hollow, rather than the field commanders on the surface. Despite his flaws with a Torque bow, he excelled at everything else and was simply too good to turn down. Though his skills didn't just catch the eyes of his superiors, Dessa caught all this to and took an interest. He remembered their first meeting quite well, Hakar was fumbling about, trying to get his Torque arrow in, when Dessa arrived and showed him how it was done. "Not like that!" He recalled her chortling, before approaching him and showing the right way of reloading a Torque bow. He still didn't know why that got him interested in her, maybe it was the fact that RAAM always berated him for not handling a signature weapon of the horde in the right way, while Dessa was actually willing to show him what went wrong and help him improve. Whatever it was, that meeting sparked up a friendship, the two got along quite well and stuck by each other through the training, while Ferex tagged along. After both had been appointed Theron Guards, they still stuck together and kept their friendship alight. Even when Hakar announced he would disobey his father's order of staying put in the hollow, Dessa actually supported him and understood his eagerness to fight the new enemy, though she herself, decided not to go. Though time went on, while Dessa was assigned command of her group of lower Drones and Grenadiers, Hakar stuck with his friend Onwa and three others. Perhaps all the fighting and sense of fighting a war on new terms got to Hakar, he found himself getting slightly more stressed and savage, though this didn't stop Dessa, she'd still see him as often as she could and show her support, Hakar appreciated that. The last he could remember was after he had formed The Soul Killers as a group and they had completed their fist mission. It was a fairly close call, but his team succeeded, sending adrenaline rushing through his body. He met up with Dessa to receive congratulations. Then something happened, all that rush suddenly caused him to get a primitive urge. Dessa suddenly seemed a lot more… attractive to him. He grabbed her by the shoulders, implying his urge, though Dessa didn't resist, in fact, she seemed like she wanted it just as much. However, once he had done what was done, Hakar found himself called away by The Queen, being sent on mission after mission. Hakar never saw Dessa after that encounter, constantly staying in the mindset of "Serve The Queen" made him put all those memories behind him. Until that is, Ferex showed up and all of them came flooding back. Hakar could now feel a stab of regret somewhere in his chest. "Hakar?" Hakar suddenly snapped back into reality and looked up to see that Onwa was standing in the doorway of his shack. Onwa had a look of concern on his face. That was Onwa, always worried about Hakar. "Is everything okay?" Onwa asked. "I'm fine." Hakar growled, not really wanting to talk. "I hate to provoke you, but I disagree, something is wrong." Hakar let out a deep sigh as Onwa came in closer and sat down next to him. "I couldn't help but to overhear you and Ferex, it sounded quite heated." Onwa pointed out. "What was it about?" "Nothing, just some things that happened in the past." Hakar replied hastily. "I do remember you mentioning the name Dessa, who was she?" "Just a close friend from when I was in Theron training." Hakar groaned, not really in the mood to answer any questions. "What did you do?" Onwa cautiously asked. "Ferex did not at all sound pleased." Hakar didn't reply, he just showed some of his sharp teeth and let out a low growl, Onwa knew not to mess with that look, it usually meant it was only Hakar's concern and no one else's. Onwa knew to understand that. Though one thing was still puzzling him. "What of Zaach?" He asked. "Onwa… please, I need to be alone." Hakar sighed. "I understand." Onwa replied, patting his friend on the shoulder. Onwa picked himself up and began to leave, he shouldn't have asked about Zaach, maybe once Hakar had gathered up his thoughts, then they could talk. Just before he left, Onwa turned to look back at Hakar. "You still trust me?" He asked. Hakar nodded. Onwa acknowledged it and left the shack. - Outside, it was starting to turn into night. Though thunderclaps could still be heard, the clouds were now a dark blue and most of the surroundings were cast in darkness. Onwa could see most Locust retreating to shacks or to the cave mouth, though some stayed outside, by their makeshift fires. Onwa walked over to Priest Quaar's shack, Hakar had been acting up ever since he went to see the priest, so if anyone knew what was going on, he did. Onwa gently knocked on the priest's flimsily made door, checking who was around. "Priest Quaar?" Onwa called, he didn't get a response. He tried knocking on the door again, though someone stopped him. "Do you want to see the Priest?" called a voice, Onwa turned to see it was Brother Markon, who had been out for a stroll. "I just wanted to ask him something." Onwa replied. "Priest Quaar needs his rest." Markon explained. "He will call for you if he wants to see you." "My question does need answer or it shall bother me all night." Onwa reiterated, sounding slightly more impatient. "And as I said, you shall get your chance when he calls for you." Markon growled. Onwa sighed and stepped down, letting Markon pass so that he may enter the shack. Markon never seemed to sleep, he just stayed in Quaar's shack and acted as a guard for the priest. Markon slammed the door behind Onwa, annoying the Soul Killer. "Charming." Onwa hissed. - Hakar decided he needed some sleep, he'd been through a lot and felt that the best thing to do was get some rest and have some alone time. He took of his chest armour and rested on some robes that were strewn on the ground, he then placed his head on his armour and closed his eyes. In his sleep, he could feel himself tossing and turning, he seemed quite restless. He could also hear noises that sounded like hearts beating, blood flowing and a distant battle cry of a Locust Drone. Hakar suddenly awoke to find himself surrounded in pitch darkness, he was fully clothed, save for his helmet. The ground felt quite wet and sticky, Hakar rubbed his finger across the floor and found residue coming off his finger. A new noise could be heard now, a distant revival cry of Kantus monk, the scream they made that could bring downed Locust soldiers back up to their feet and make them fighting mad. A red form began to manifest itself in front of Hakar. It resembled T'Chark, though it was in the form of a red gas, it hovered in front of Hakar, starring right at him. "Who… what?" Hakar stuttered. "I?" The Apparition boomed in a voice much deeper and twisted than T'Chark's. "I flow through you… I make you stronger!" "What do you mean?" Hakar demanded. "You took me… now I flow through your bloodstream and make you more powerful than anything in this world." The Apparition explained. "The... The Blood of T'Chark?" The darkness appeared to fade away and Hakar got a better look of his surroundings. He was in a strange place, where the walls looked… alive. They were fleshy and they pulsated while liquid leaked from them, the sound of a heartbeat could heard in the distance. The walls also had black patches scattered around. Hakar picked himself up, he didn't believe it, but it looked as though he was _inside his own brain._ He stumbled, yet at the same time, he felt a small pain in his head, like some sort of demented paradox. "What… what's going on?!" Hakar snapped to the Apparition, who just laughed. "In due time, though for now, your body hungers for the blood of the enemy… I can help you satisfy that hunger!" Suddenly, Hakar was once again, surrounded by darkness, he shook himself and saw five unarmed Cog soldiers, all down on their knees, while Hakar had his serrated blade in his hand. "Go, kill them!" Boomed the voice of the Apparition. Hakar, at first, uneasily approached the soldiers, they didn't get up or try to fight back, they just kneeled before him, starring at him through the visors. Hakar swung his blade and beheaded the first soldier, blood spraying everywhere as the body collapsed. Hakar felt a rush, he then slashed three more soldiers, decapitating them with ease, their blood spilling on his body. The last soldier whimpered as Hakar stomped towards him. Mercilessly, Hakar knocked the soldier down onto all fours, he then grabbed the soldier's right arm and yanked it off in one tug. The soldier screamed as blood sprayed out of his wound, Hakar then let out a sick smile as he began to beat the soldier to death with his own limb. With the soldiers dead, the Apparition let out a deep laugh, there was a sudden flash and Hakar then found himself back within his own psyche. The Apparition still present. "You are a tormented being." It cackled. "You mask your problems by destroying your enemies!" "What do you want?! Tell me!" Hakar snapped. The Apparition suddenly stuttered and began to change, it turned a dark blue colour and changed it's form to better resemble T'Chark, rather than the twisted one Hakar was just talking to. "Listen to me." It announced, sounding much more like the Goddess. "Your mind has been consumed by fear! All your life the regret of losing those close to you, whether they be comrade, friend or both has tormented your mind. Now you fear losing one of your closest!" Hakar went down on his knees, it was true, every time A Soul Killer died, Hakar personally felt the blame was his alone. He'd do his best to hide it, but it always came through. He'd lost Dessa, He'd lost so many Soul Killers, He'd lost his own father, now, because of what Quaar told him, he feared losing one of his closest friends, Zaach. "Not Zaach!" He shouted. "So long as you protect him, you shall not lose him!" The Apparition boomed. "Though take care! If you do not control yourself, he shall be lost!" Hakar knew the Apparition was the right, he had to take care around Zaach, not berate or snap at him, no! He would have to take care of Zaach, yet not let his paranoid fears strangle the young Soul Killer. "Why Zaach though?" Hakar asked. "Why do I fear losing him the most?" - Hakar suddenly woke up, lifting himself off the ground, he looked around to see he was back in his shack, it was still night time outside. He had to shake himself… what had he just seen? A Message from The Goddess? He was too shaken up, but he knew what had to be done, he had to tell both Onwa and Zaach, two of his most trusted Soul Killers, what Quaar had told him.

OOH AAH

Chapter 12

\- Night time had fallen upon the surface world of Sera, it was a strange thing for the Horde to see. Sure, they'd been on night time raids, but never had they seen that big fire ball in the sky actually descend and let the dark, midnight blue clouds take over. Zaach had seen it a couple of times, when he was with The Soul Killers after the death bringer had been detonated, he'd grown to like sitting outside and watching the transition from day to night. Sauvix, Taus and Braahk were wandering around, seeing how the rest of the survivors were coping, most had opted to go and get some sleep, though there were the odd few that were still up. Taus spotted a Theron Guard and a Cyclops discussing something, while Zaach's friend Haulac and that Bloodmount of his sat by a fire. It wasn't until Taus spotted that fire did he suddenly realise that it was quite cold. Despite there being no wind, there was a definite cold nip in the air. Taus saw that Braahk was feeling it as well, but Sauvix was just shrugging it off. "Is very cold!" Braahk pointed out. "It usually is at night, especially during this season." Sauvix explained. "The humans call it the season of Frost." Taus just nodded, that was Sauvix being his normal self. If someone asked something about the surface world, Sauvix always gave a good description, yet he told it in a rather blunt manner. He wondered why though. Why the attitude? The hatred of Neophytes, everyone knew about, but the bitter and sarcastic attitude? The reason he chose to study the humans rather than fight them? No, there had to be something he wasn't telling everyone else. "How long till Frost go away?" Braahk asked. "I don't know exactly." Sauvix replied rather bluntly. Braahk just shrugged. The three kept moving along, when Nokada appeared from one of the shacks, she turned her attention to the three Soul Killers and approached them. "Is all well Nokada?" Taus asked. "I think we have settled in okay." Nokada explained. "I had to break the news of Chal's death to Ithak and Ara." That comment made Sauvix shrug a little, he was right there when she got killed. "Oh?" He inquired. "They're naturally shocked, but we have had to witness the death of many all the time." Nokada added. "To say we have grown used to it would be a lie, though we know we will inevitably lose close friends in these dark days." As she was saying this, Sauvix couldn't help but to turn his attention to what looked like a wound on Nokada's left arm. It looked like some kind of gash, it went from her elbow to her wrist. It almost looked like something incredible sharp, like a knife, had been slashed down her arm. "Nokada… your arm?" Sauvix pointed out. Nokada looked down at her arm, though she didn't seem to bothered about it. "It's nothing." She assured. "Naturally, hiding up on the surface, we faced many dangers, we were bound to get injured every once and a while." "Don't you wish to have it treated? I have things that could help." Sauvix offered. "No thank you, The Lost prefer to keep their wounds." As Nokada turned around, appearing to be looking for something. Sauvix spotted yet another injury, this one on her back. It looked like a bite mark, not from a small insect, a proper one, teeth marks and all. It seemed as though a large, wild animal had tried to take a chunk out of her. Sauvix was a little surprised, she must have been in pain, surely not even the Kantus species could just shrug off a wound like that. "Though you okay now?" Braahk asked the Priestess. "Yes, thank you for letting us stay with you." Nokada replied. "And…" Again, Nokada turned around, looking at something. She turned back with a somewhat disappointed look on her face. "… I apologise for Ithak's behaviour." A little perplexed at that comment, Sauvix and Taus looked over Nokada's shoulder to see what she meant by that. Nokada herself, also looked back. Ithak appeared to be "preaching" to some Locust. She stood with her arms folded, talking to a regular Drone, a Hammerhead, a Flame Grenadier and the Butcher that fed the Reavers. The Locust just stood and listened while the Priestess talked to them. "Think about it." Ithak started. "The Queen promised you salvation from The Dark Ones if you destroyed the human race, right?" The Locust nodded. "Though the humans proved tougher than you thought! They slaughtered your comrades by the dozens, yet The Queen told you to keep fighting! Why? Because she commanded it!" Ithak boomed. "So you did." The Locust were a little bit unsure, the Flame Grenadier titled his head to the left, then to the right. He was thinking about the whole "slaughter your comrades" part. It was true, he'd lost a lot of friends. "Keep fighting them and we'll win, she said!" Ithak continued. "And what happened? Were the humans destroyed?" The Locust drew themselves in a little closer. "No! First, the death bringer destroyed most of the outer hollow and expanded The Dark One's army. Then the Riftworm was killed, and now, thanks to The Queen, our homes have been flooded and we are forced to survive up on the cruel surface world!" Ithak announced. "So I ask you, was it really worth fighting for The Queen?" All the Locust seemed taken in, the shocked Drone and Hammerhead looked at each other in surprise. The Flame Grenadier stood perfectly still, taking in everything the Priestess had just said. "Uhhh… Queen bad!" The Butcher growled. The three other Locust nodded in agreement. Ithak had a very satisfied smile on her face. "More souls have opened their eyes." She grinned. Nokada turned back to The Soul Killers. "Always the rebellious one." She sighed. "No need to apologise, she's probably doing them a favour." Sauvix replied. "We'll be on our way now." Taus said. Nokada nodded and let the three get going, though Braahk suddenly stepped back to her. "Ara… is her and her youngling okay?" Nokada seemed a bit surprised, it was a little strange for such a hulking monster to be asking that kind of question, when the Boomer Locust's reputation had been just kill, kill and kill again. Though Ara did point out that he'd grown quite fond of the youngling. "They're both fine." Nokada replied, patting Braahk on his muscular right shoulder. Braahk nodded and went over to rejoin Sauvix and Taus. When he caught up, he noticed that Taus had a big smile on his face, Sauvix turned around and saw it. "What are you grinning at?" Sauvix barked. "You sounded genuinely concerned about Nokada's injury." Taus chortled. Sauvix stopped for a minute, Taus was right. "Yes… Yes I did, didn't I?" - Nokada began to walk towards Ithak, wanting to have a word. As she approached, The Drone and the Hammerhead were heading in her direction, while the Flame Grenadier and Butcher went in the other direction. Nokada couldn't help but to overhear what the two Drones were saying. "Priestess was right. I lost many friends to the ground walkers." The Drone said. "Bah, we were deceived!" The Hammerhead growled. The two kept talking as they walked away. Nokada approached Ithak, when she spotted her, Ithak let out a sigh. "I wish you wouldn't do that." Nokada groaned. "I'm doing them a favour." Ithak protested. "I'm waking them up!" "Look Ithak, maybe you're right, maybe The Queen is a soul T'Chark can't forgive, though we can't shout that kind of slander!" Nokada warned. "There may be those here who still support her." "The Soul Killers… her own personal troops seem convinced, what's to say the rest aren't agreeing?" Ithak pointed out. Nokada sighed, it wasn't much use, Ithak had her mind set and she wasn't going to change. "Just… be careful okay?" Nokada asked. Ithak hastily nodded, Nokada began to walk away from her to go and get some sleep. Ithak looked around and saw Sauvix walking into a shack that seemed to be his. - Sauvix sat down and let himself stretch. He looked around at all of the things he had collected from The Soul Killers surface headquarters. All artefacts he had managed to scavenge from the surface. There was one item in particular he was interested in, a large manuscript that contained a story. Apparently called "books" Sauvix took it and began to read it. Though he found that he could not concentrate, Taus raised a good point, he did seem concerned for Nokada's well being. Why though? Perhaps it was because of a change of company. Most of his life, Sauvix had been surrounded by the typical mindset of "Crush, Maim, Kill" but now he met others that seemed to be quite intelligent, perhaps not at his level, but defiantly smart enough to have a good conversation with. As Sauvix tried to read his book again, he suddenly heard someone at the door. He looked up to see it was Ithak. "Oh… Ithak." Sauvix said, sounding like he'd just woken up. He seemed a little surprised to see her. "You don't mind? Just needed someone more intelligent to talk to." Ithak grinned, sitting down. "Oh, all right then." Sauvix acknowledged, still a little surprised. He closed his book and looked at Ithak. "Nokada says I shouldn't be telling others about That Queen and her lies." Ithak began. "Says there may be those who still hold out for her." "I think you'll find they'll be very disappointed." Sauvix noted. "Exactly." Ithak added. "If you Soul Killers don't believe in her, why should they?" "Good point…" Sauvix got up and took the book with him, he placed back with the other assortment of books he had collected. Though suddenly, he heard a yelp of pain. Sauvix turned to see Ithak was holding her left foot and clenching her teeth. "Are you alright?" Sauvix asked. "Some kind of creature bit me!" Ithak exclaimed. Sauvix looked on the floor and saw the culprit. Some kind of four legged, spider like insect was scuttling away. Sauvix sighed, he'd seen a lot of these creatures since they moved up here. He turned back to Ithak, who was examining her foot, she now had a fairly large red bite mark on her middle toe. Again, Sauvix caught himself interested in the injuries, he noted in greater detail that Ithak's feet were pretty mauled. Bruises, bites, scratches and cuts. "What bit me?" Ithak asked, snapping Sauvix back into reality. "A small insect native to the surface world, humans call them scampers." Sauvix explained. "Not really a threat, more of an annoyance." "Is that it?" Ithak growled. "If it makes you feel better, it wasn't attacking, just taste testing." Sauvix added. "It obviously wanted to see if you were edible, you weren't, so it retreated." Sauvix put Ithak's foot up on his lap and took a closer look at the bite, he had put his thumbs into the sole of her foot while he examined the bite. It may have looked large, but as Sauvix said, Scampers were more annoying that harmful. The bite was probably one that would heal itself within a day. "Nothing really to be concerned about." Sauvix said, gently pushing her middle toe back to see more of the bite. "It will clear itself up in no time. Though I do have a few samples of a balm humans used to clear…" Sauvix stopped himself as he saw Ithak was giving him a rather cheeky smile, like she was holding back laughter. It occurred to Sauvix that he was starting to fondle her. "Er.. Right… well." Sauvix stammered, putting Ithak's foot down. She looked at it, still with her smile, then turned back to Sauvix. "Humans who lived in Landown had to deal with them all the time because they'd dig in through the floor." Sauvix claimed. "They'd put something through the floorboards to scare them off." Ithak had a curious smile on her face. "You seem to know a lot about them." She inquired. Sauvix turned and looked at her. "As barbaric as they are, there are so many things about them that fascinate me." Sauvix admitted. "Their customs, their habits, their way of live is just incredible." Ithak folded her arms and nodded, obviously interested. "For example." Sauvix began. "Did you know it is a custom for them to capture females, strip them down to their near naked bodies, then force them to dance around a pole, just for entertainment?" Ithak suddenly burst out laughing, the thought of that seemed ridicules. Sauvix turned away again, though something strange happened. He felt a smile on his face, not his usually sarcastic or forced smile. No, it was a proper one. He felt the sides of his face just to be sure. He shook himself and turned back to Ithak. "How very… strange." She giggled. "When I first saw the surface world, I was just amazed, I had to learn more." Sauvix mentioned. "The reason?" Ithak asked. "Hmm?" "Oh come now, I've seen this before." Ithak stated. "You couldn't have just suddenly got interested, something else happened which got you interested." Sauvix sat down, he ran that statement through his head. All of a sudden, he stopped dead. He suddenly remembered why he got all interested, why he kept pushing himself to learn more. "It… it helped me move on from…" Sauvix stuttered. He hadn't felt this way in a long time. "What?" Ithak gently asked. "My… My brother." Sauvix gasped. "I… remember now…" "You can tell me." Ithak assured. Sauvix took a deep breath, he was suddenly unlocking a deep memory he thought he had forgotten. "My brother, Venrix." Sauvix began. "He and I, like all Locust, were trained to fight and kill the Lambent. Though we were both combat able, we didn't really think the front line was for us. We preferred to observe the battle, find out what went right and wrong, learn about the Lambent's movements." "Did you like him?" "Venrix? Well, he wasn't as smart as me, but we could talk to each other, go a whole conversation without mentioned the word kill. Yes, I guess I did like him." "So what happened?" Again, Sauvix took a deep breath, he looked around at all his human collectables before continuing his memory. "Then one day, we heard about how The Queen intended to lead a campaign against an enemy that had been above us all this time, a barbaric race known as humans." Sauvix explained. "I wasn't so sure, I thought that the Lambent were a big enough problem, why have two wars?" Sauvix rubbed the side of his head, this trip down memory lane was starting to hurt. "Me and Venrix were separated, he tried to break away from his swarm and join mine, but the commanders kept pushing him away." Sauvix continued. "When I got up to the surface, I couldn't believe what I saw. These so called humans had an amazing society. Their buildings, all with their own purposes, a sky, machines used for transport, it was incredible!" "Though of course, everyone charged for the human soldiers, who were trying to repel us." Sauvix added. "Though as I tried to follow, something caught the corner of my eye." "It was Venrix, he was on the floor, bleeding heavily, I saw a human soldier stand over him with a knife, then drive it into his face…" Sauvix paused, he stood blankly into space. Ithak looked at him with a worried look. "I… I watched him die that day…" He stuttered. "She… she sent him to his death." Ithak got up and moved closer to Sauvix, she put her arm around his shoulders. "What happened after that?" She nervously asked. "A…After the humans fell back and the rest of the horde pushed forward, I stayed to have a look around. I found myself interested in what was around me." Sauvix described. "I found a sudden urge to know more about this world, how it worked and what the species did. Ever since that day, every chance I got, I would collect artefacts of interest and study them." "You learned quite a lot." "Indeed, I managed to find a derelict prison building and convert it into a workshop. I kept all of my stuff there, until a rookie drone sold me out and I found myself arrested. Sentenced to the very Queen that killed my brother." Ithak now knew that was why, she could tell from the painful expression on his face as he told his story that he hadn't told anyone, not even his fellow Soul Killers this. He'd used studying the humans as a way to repress the memories of seeing his dead brother." "I know how it feels." Ithak notified. Sauvix turned and looked at her. "Praetorian guards carried out a raid on us 'heretics'." She growled. "My mother and brother were killed on the spot, while my father was executed later that day." "Praetorian guards." Sauvix smirked. "As far as they're concerned, if a wretch coughs wrongly, it's treachery." Ithak smiled and patted Sauvix's back. She got up to leave, but before she left, she looked at Sauvix. "Will you be okay?" She asked. "It's strange, I repressed the memory because I thought it would hurt me." Sauvix admitted. "Though now, I feel better that I told you." "Probably because The Queen's Sycophants wouldn't care." Ithak joked. "Though don't worry, I'd say they're all agreeing with us here." As Ithak left, Sauvix nodded and smiled. He looked out at the doorway. "Where have you been all my life?" He asked.

Keep going!

Chapter 13

\- All was quiet at Port *Farrall, most of the odd skirmishes against the Horde had been dealt with. Now with night having fallen, things has surprisingly gone quiet. No Kryll anymore, thank god for that. At an old, torn apart bar that some of the Gears used as a retreat, one Cog soldier sat at the broken, dust covered bar stool with only another Gear, acting as a bartender, for company. The Cog nursed his drink, bottled water, may not have been able to drown any sorrows he may have had, but at least he had something to drink. Heck, he was lucky to have anything to drink at all. He wasn't alone for much longer, as another Cog Gear stepped in and sat down next to him. "You all right Ken?" The Gear asked. "Fine Chris." The "Bartender" Gear approached Chris, but he shook his hand, implying he didn't want anything to drink. Ken put his water to one side and turned to face Chris. "So, when do you think we're getting out of this hell-hole?" Chris asked. "Soon I hope." Ken replied. "F*ck, I miss the place I had back at Jacinto." "I think we all do." Chris assured. The two Gears stopped for a second and looked through the entrance to the bar, they couldn't help but to notice a couple of other Gears talking about something. They couldn't quite make out what, though. "What do you think is up with them?" Ken asked. "Probably just thinking up tactics in case the grubs keep trying with their skirmish attacks." Chris replied. "Say what you want though, at least sinking Jacinto did some good! Heck, who knows? Maybe this war is finally over!" "No way man, I doubt that." Ken sighed. "What do you mean?" "The shot down Raven… the squads that have all gone missing looking for it… who do you think is behind all of that?" Ken asked "Oh yeah… them" Ken and Chris shuddered, they knew exactly who the culprits were. None other than The Locust Soul Killers. The very Locust that slaughtered hundreds of Cogs with ease. Apparently, Cog soldiers made a list of "Worse ways to die" and it was said that somewhere near the top was "Become Soul Killer bait." Yeah, Soul Killer Bait, the name given to the poor bastards that were sent into areas where Soul Killer activity was reported. They'd be sent in and the next time Colonel Hoffman saw them, all torn to pieces. Dubbing another term "Clean up site." where The Soul Killers left the slaughtered soldiers as their "Calling Card." "Why does Hoffman even bother?" Chris sighed. "He'd be better off sending a letter, asking The Soul Killers to leave us alone." Ken laughed quite a bit at that comment. "Tell me about man." He chuckled. "You know my friend Reggie went to a Soul Killer Clean up site?" "Oh, what happened?" Chris asked. "Well… let's just say he hasn't been able to sleep ever since." Ken grimly replied. "Damn, that bad huh?" Ken just nodded. Trooper Vic was right, one clean up site could demoralise anyone, even the toughest veteran. "Do you want to hear one of the stories I was told?" Chris suggested. "Go on." Ken inquired. "Well, from what I heard, there was the rook in Eagle Squad, and all the others told him stories about The Soul Killers and what they did, so that he could be prepared for what's out there, you know?" Chris explained. "Then came Operation Hollow Storm, he witnessed two or three Soul Killers slaughtered an entire legion of Gears… and the shock killed him!" "Seriously?!" Ken barked. "No joke! Dimitri from Cobra Squad told me… his info is always solid!" Ken took a moment to take that in… geez, that bad? "Well, I heard something too…" Ken started. Chris nodded to say he was listening. "Colonel Hoffman is actually confessing to the people about the times Soul Killers beat us… including the Madar base incident." Chris nearly choked. "Madar base?! But wasn't that one of our most humiliating defeats at the hands of them?!" "Sure was." Ken replied. "Why would you tell people that? I could've sworn we would get punished if we ever spoke of that day, now all of sudden he's telling the civilians?!" Chris spluttered. "I guess he thinks we've got nothing to lose. You know, Jacinto has sunk, we're low on supplies and Port Farrall is a dump. We may not make it into next year, so why not get all that off your chest?" Ken explained. "Well… when you put it like that." Chris said. Soul Killers… Soul Killers… even after the sinking of Jacinto, that's all any of the soldiers were worrying about. Though could they be blamed?

Not even going to say anything

Chapter 14

\- Morning had finally arisen and the Locust survivors were starting to stir. Onwa was first up, he had donned all his usual armour and stretched himself. Taking a few seconds to make sure he was up and running, Onwa then walked out of his shack, only to suddenly stop and put his arm over his eye. It was the fact that he was waking up to the sky, rather than the dull fires or the glowing flora that ran around the hollow. Although he and the others use to reside at their old Headquarters on the surface, Onwa never got used to it, but he seemed to be adjusting better than the others. Onwa spotted one Grenadier stumble about with his eyes closed, definitely a first time for him, other Locust looked confused or bewildered. They'd been here for quite a while now, and waking up to sky still seemed to be a problem for them It was only after a few seconds did Onwa look up to see that the sky above him looked grey again, they'd seemed to have had none stop grey skies or rain ever since they'd arrived at this hiding spot. A symbol of dark days for them, that was Onwa's theory. As Onwa walked on, watching other Locust start to stir and get going, he noticed that Sauvix was coming out of his shack, strangely holding onto his Scorcher flamethrower. Onwa approached him. "Expecting a fight?" He asked. "I should be, seeing as how our leader wants to find something to kill at the drop of hat." Sauvix sneered. "The drop of a what?" "Old human saying, The Queen can't punish me for that, seeing as how she's not here." Sauvix replied. Sauvix then saw Onwa was folding his arms and grinning, like he knew something, Sauvix sighed, letting Onwa say what he wanted. "Did the Priestess Ithak tell you that one?" He chortled. "Don't waste my time with hints Onwa, what did you hear?" Sauvix sighed. "It's just from what I heard, you two got quite friendly with each other… you even got concerned over one of those scampers biting her foot." Onwa added, smirking. "That's just my interest in their endurance." Sauvix protested. "They've all got rather nasty scars and wounds, yet they refuse to have them looked at or treated." "And of Ithak and you?" Onwa asked. "Well, maybe I'm just glad to meet someone who, like me, isn't a blind fanatic." Onwa and Sauvix stopped for a second and turned to noticed Braahk. "Speaking of them…" Onwa started. It was a very rare sight, Braahk without his Mulcher, he simply walked over to the shack where Priestess Ara resided. "…Braahk seems to have taken a liking to that youngling." Onwa pointed out. "Maybe he's glad he's found the one thing less intelligent than him." Sauvix growled. Onwa turned back to Sauvix with a harsh stare. "It's just a youngling Sauvix." He barked. "…And that's supposed to make me go easy on it?" Sauvix hissed. Onwa grinded his teeth and threw his arms up in the air, symbolising he wasn't going to keep this argument going, he let out a disappointed groan and walked over, leaving a somewhat smug Sauvix behind. - Ara was up and moving around in her shack, she had taken all the things from her old hideout and placed them where she felt they were appropriate. Although she admired the craftsmanship of these survivors, it didn't quite have the same comfort of their old hideout. She had placed her old scrolls and the "paintings" done by her nephew, named Chex, on the walls, so that she'd always have something to look at. Chex was still fast asleep, the movement outside didn't seem to stir him. Ara sat down for a minute and looked at him. She was still wondering about his chances of survival, from what The Soul Killers had shown them, extinction for the Horde looked like a strong possibility. Once again, it symbolised the price for ignoring T'Chark. Queen is wrong, T'Chark is right, that's what Ithak would say. That comment always made Ara smirk. Ara also hated Queen Myrrah, but she didn't quite share the same thuggery or malice Ithak had towards The Queen. Ara got up and rubbed her temples, unlike Nokada and Ithak, who wore the crown helmet of the Kantus, Ara preferred a headband. Looking at herself, she was quite different from those two, favouring longer leggings and a full chest armour. Again, different from Nokada and Ithak, who's chest armour cut off half way, showing their navels. "Priestess Ara?" Boomed a voice, taking Ara by surprise. A little jumpy, she turned around to see Braahk sticking his head in through the entrance to her shack. "Oh, it's you Braahk!" Ara gasped. "You… okay? No bad happen?" Braahk asked. "I'm fine… and so is Chex." Ara then started to giggle, Braahk, a little curious, stepped in, he had to lower himself to get in through the entrance, but luckily didn't manage to break anything once he was in. "What? Why you laugh?" "Forgive me Braahk, but it is strange to see a creature of your kind concerned for the welfare of me and Chex." Ara explained. "Huh?" "Grinders… gun wielding beasts who's only thought is to kill and kill again… the horde's opinion, not mine." Ara added. "Bah, they all think I dumb!" Braahk snapped. "I not like others, I not just good for killing humans, I Soul Killer! Queen's good soldier!" Braahk paused for a minute to think about what he had just said. "Though killing humans IS good fun!" He chortled. "Always happy to see tiny humans get crushed!" Ara smirked again as she patted Braahk's shoulder, amused by the crudely done paintings of a grinning skull on his shoulder pads. "Well, thank you Braahk." Ara said. "Though I can't lie to him." Ara stepped over to look back at the sleeping Chex, Braahk managed to creep over as well, without his heavy footsteps waking the youngling. "I'll tell him everything, his mother, the state of us, nothing will be kept from him." Ara announced. "No worry about humans yes?" Braahk asked reassuringly. "I crush them with bare hands if they dare try to harm you!" Ara covered her mouth and laughed again. "Of course." she smiled. - Zaach, having now woken up and kitted up, crept carefully out of his own shack and cautiously looked around. He was still rather nervous about his "encounter" with Hakar. He didn't want to incite more fury from his leader. Aside from mentioning Marcus Fenix, Zaach had never seen Hakar that angry, but the thought of Hakar pinning him to the wall was just too much for Zaach. He decided it would be best to wait for his leader to calm down, until then, stay out of his way. Zaach looked around, Locust were now actively walking around, talking to one another, inspecting their guns and eating any scavenged food, some of it from yesterdays hunts. These survivors didn't seem like the "horrifying scourge of the humans", no, all they were interested in was staying alive. No "Avenge the Queen" or "Destroy the humans, even while down" none of that, just keep alive. Maybe without the Queen around, The Soul Killers and Brother Markon were their sole source of guidance, and since both parties were telling these survivors to keep their voices down, they did just that. While walking, Zaach spotted one of the Priestess's, Nokada, sitting on a rock, she appeared to be a painting something. Curious, Zaach walked over to see what she was painting. "An artist?" Zaach asked. Nokada turned to him and smiled. "Well, I did paint all the time back in the old days, it kept me busy." She replied. "I thought now would be a good time to get back into it." Zaach nodded and watched as Nokada, very precisely, added specific shades of colour to her painting. Seconds later, she put down her brush and stretched her arms. "Finished." She sighed. "Can I look?" Zaach requested. Nokada nodded and shifted to one side to let Zaach get a better look at her work. It was a painting of T'Chark, the Worm Goddess. She appeared to be in a very large, open part of the hollow, part of her was wrapped around a monolith like structure, while she looked down at shadows that were supposed to be worshippers, T'Chark's tail also looked as though it was "wagging". Zaach couldn't tell, he was, after all, from a soldier background, nothing sophisticated like Nokada. "That is incredible!" Zaach gasped. "I've never seen anything like it!" "Thank you." Nokada replied, bowing her head. "I always drew portraits of T'Chark, everyone loved them." Zaach suddenly looked a bit confused, he looked at Nokada with an odd look of bewilderment. "Of who?" he asked. Nokada's eyes suddenly bulged, she seemed shocked by that comment. Nokada got up and looked straight at Zaach. "T'Chark… The Goddess?" She asked. "The Holy Deity?" As she was asking this, Sauvix just happened to be passing, he saw Nokada and Zaach talking, from the sound of it, he prepared himself to step in. "I… no… I don't know anything about…" Zaach stammered, he suddenly gulped as he saw Nokada's claws come out. "You never heard of her?!" She barked. Just at the right moment, Sauvix rushed in and intervened. "N…Nokada, let me explain." He panted, having almost tripped over to stop and unnecessary fight. Nokada stopped herself and let Sauvix say what he needed. "You have to remember that Zaach comes from a generation of Drones that were told nothing about the old days, he was bred to fight and kill the humans." Sauvix explained. "No mention of T'Chark, her warnings or anything. The only Kantus that were around preached to him that humans were filth that needed to be destroyed." Nokada put away her claws and clasped her hands, she suddenly looked a little guilty. "I'm sorry Zaach." She sighed. "I completely forgot…" Zaach just shook his hand, showing that it was okay. "Don't scowl Ithak for what she's doing though." Sauvix suggested. "She's helping these Locust wake up. With a little educating, you can get T'Chark back into their lives." Nokada pondered at the idea for a few seconds, she smiled and looked back at Sauvix. "Yes… perhaps you are right." Nokada said. "Though the moment Ithak hears I'm agreeing with her, I'll never hear the end of it." Nokada smiled and took her painting with her, as she left, Sauvix turned to Zaach. "Never heard of her." Zaach protested, genially puzzled. "I would expect that from a Drone like you." Sauvix sighed. "It's a very touchy subject, there were those Kantus that still believe in her and will gladly kill those that think The Queen is right." "Hopefully, no one here." Zaach gulped. Sauvix shrugged and began to walk away, although just before he left, he stopped dead in his tracks and turned back to Zaach. "That's just reminded me of a question I've always been meaning to ask." He announced. "Oh?" Zaach asked. "When we first met and announced ourselves as Soul Killers, you were shocked and it seemed as though you didn't believe in us." Sauvix started. "Is it true? Did you really not know about us?" "We… we never saw you in the hollows, so a lot of us started to believe that you were just stories made up to boost the moral of the Horde." Zaach replied. "Oh… wonderful." Sauvix growled. "I joined a team of stories and myths to boost the confidence of stupid, mindless drones." Sauvix again, began to walk away, but Zaach had something to say. "It's not all bad… you got to annoy The Queen by wearing the uniform of her Elite!" He joked. Sauvix stopped and turned back, smiling. "Well… that was always a good feeling." Sauvix smugly chortled. - Onwa walked over to Quaar's cabin, as he wanted to speak to the elderly Priest about Hakar. He tried last night, but Brother Markon told him to come back when the Priest requested him. Onwa didn't have time, he wanted to know what Priest Quaar had told Hakar. Sure enough, Brother Markon was standing outside Quaar's cabin, arms folded and scowling at everyone who passed. "Markon, is Priest Quaar awake?" Onwa asked through gritted teeth. "I told you last night, Quaar will only speak to those he requests to see." Markon huffed back. "I really need to…" Suddenly the cabin door opened, the elderly Kantus had picked himself up and had walked to the front door, he used his staff as a makeshift walking stick. Quaar looked around and saw Onwa and Markon. "Onwa… the friend of Hakar?" Quaar asked. "Yes?" "You wish to see me… come inside my friend…" Quaar slowly walked back to where he was sitting as Onwa followed. Though not before giving a sly taunt to Markon.

Yawn a long one

Chapter 15

Onwa stepped into the shack with Priest Quaar, the elderly Kantus took a few moments to make it from the front entrance of his shack to his chair, a staff used as a walking stick being the only way to help him move. Though Onwa remained perfectly patient, Quaar was the most respected member of these survivors. Besides, he didn't want Markon breathing down his neck. On top of that, these survivors were a powder keg, one sign of aggression could probably start a riot. Priest Quaar took a deep breath and sat himself down, he gestured to Onwa to also take a seat. Onwa nodded and sat down on the floor. "You… you say you wanted to see me?" Quaar asked. "Yes Priest, it is about my friend Hakar." Onwa replied. "Hakar… son of RAAM. Yes, I spoke with him, what is troubling you?" Onwa took a moment to think about what he wanted to say, he wanted to be honest, but not sound worrying or offensive. "Yesterday, after he saw you, he began to act more erratic." Onwa explained. "He was completely defensive of our soldier Zaach." Quaar nodded, he knew what Onwa was talking about. "Then Zaach wandered away and was ambushed by Dark Warriors, Hakar saved him, but afterwards, Hakar went ballistic with him, yelling at him about almost getting himself killed…" Onwa continued. Priest Quaar raised his hand, signalling he wanted Onwa to stop. "Say no more Soul Killer… you are right, I fear I bought that upon your friend." Quaar admitted. "Why?" Onwa asked. "T'Chark grants me with visions of the future, though I'm afraid they are not as clear as they used to be. I'm old and not as strong minded anymore." Quaar confessed. "I fear Hakar was frightened by a vision I saw." "What happened?" "I couldn't make everything out, all I could see was that young recruit Zaach, he looked as though he was in danger." Quaar sheepishly continued. "But I couldn't see where or when, I just thought that after seeing that, Hakar should keep his guard up." Onwa got up and brushed himself, he thought he had heard enough. "Did you see any others Quaar?" Onwa asked. "No I didn't." Quaar replied. "It's strange, for whatever reason, my vision solely focused on him…" "Thank you Quaar, I think that is all I need. Though should any visions become clearer, you will let me know as well?" Onwa requested. "I've known Hakar for a very long time, I know how he works and how to calm him down." "Yes, of course Soul Killer Onwa." Quaar confirmed. "I apologise for not, how that Sauvix of yours says 'Keeping you in the loop'." Onwa laughed under his breath as he began to leave, now Sauvix's "Human-isms" were reaching the higher powers as well. As Onwa left, Quaar went into deep thought, he scratched his chin as something puzzled him. "It's strange." He thought. "When I spoke to Hakar… I could've sworn I felt he had a connection with the Goddess…" - Onwa left Quaar's shack to be greeted by the busy life of the survivors. Again, they weren't up to much, talking, eating anything scavenged and messing about with their weapons. Nothing new. As Onwa turned around, he saw Brother Markon waiting outside Quaar's hut, Markon still had his scowl and his arms folded. Onwa sighed and chose to ignore the angry Kantus. He left the scene in a hurry. Onwa thought about what Quaar had said. Too many things still puzzled him, but he respected the elderly Kantus, and firmly believed everything he said. Up ahead, Onwa spotted Haulac and his Bloodmount Snapper sitting around a fire, Haulac appeared to have a bone with him and was waving it in front of Snapper's face, the Bloodmount followed it's every movement. Haulac let out a hearty laugh and threw the bone away, Snapper instantly began to chase it. It took a few moments for Haulac to realise that Onwa was now sitting down next to him. "Don't mind me, I shall not stop you." Onwa smiled. "Though I do need to ask you something." "Oh?" Haulac asked. "It's about Zaach… you've know him longer than any of us, can you tell me anything?" Onwa requested. "Not much, never really knew his own elders, he was taken and trained by Major Vaark, who already had his own son." Haulac explained. "Relationship with them?" "Hated their guts." Onwa gave Haulac and surprised look. "I think he solely joined up for The Queen's army so that he could prove he was better than both of them." Haulac added. "A lot smarter than the others though, Zaach always used to think and plan, everyone else just followed orders." "Desperate to prove himself? Was his step brother that bad?" Onwa continued questioning. "Soul Killer, did you meet Darak? Trust me, you'd rather live with a ground walker than spend a minute near that Locust!" Haulac snapped. "He's probably why Zaach hates Palace Guards. Don't blame him though, I always wanted to rip that smug Locust's arm off and beat him with it." "Fair enough." Onwa uneasily replied. "I think that's all I need to know." Snapper returned with the bone and dropped it at Haulac's knees. Haulac adjusted his mining helmet and began to wave the bone in front of Snapper's face again. "Can I ask a question?" Haulac asked. "Go on." Onwa said. "You no longer consider yourself The Queen's elite, right?" "Thinking about the state we are in now, I doubt she cares about us, so yes." Onwa sighed. "Thought so, that Priestess Ithak told me about all the lies The Queen said and how she manipulated us to go and get ourselves killed." Haulac pointed out. "I thank her for that, she's… fine." Onwa shook his head and left. - Brother Markon had watched Onwa go from Priest Quaar's hut and felt a burning sickness in the pit of his stomach, why would Quaar let such savages near him? Markon never liked The Soul Killers, true, he was grateful for young Zaach saving him back at the hollow and did appreciate them agreeing to abandon their hideout to help theses survivors, but his dislike of them stemmed further back. T'Chark disappearing not long before the Soul Killer rank was revived to fight the humans. To him, the revival of The Soul Killer spelt doom for their race. Markon wanted to go in and talk to Quaar about his views of The Soul Killers, but something held him back, he stopped himself and hesitated. "Trouble?" Called a snake like voice. Markon sighed as he turned and saw Major Kobra approaching. "Saw your little altercations with one of Hakar's soldiers, care to tell me?" The Major grinned. "Nothing that concerns you." Markon huffed. "Anyway, why would I share anything with a servant of Queen Myrrah?" "You were her aide though." The Major hissed. "I may be old, but I'm no fool." "Why I stood by her is none of your concern Major." Markon snapped. "So just leave it." Unaware to both was that Priestess Nokada just happened to be passing by, she stopped herself and hung back, just enough to be out of their line of sigh, yet still overhear the conversation between the two. "If you really must know, I don't want those Soul Killers near Priest Quaar." Markon sighed to Kobra. "Those savages shouldn't be welcome near such a religious figure." "Savages? The Queen's Elite?" Kobra chortled. "Quaar isn't one of her blind fanatics, he knows T'Chark is right, yet why should The Queen's bloodthirsty minions be allowed in his presence?" "Now you are over exaggerating, though Hakar is indeed a blood hungry beast." Kobra replied. "Never right in the head, that one." "Huh! Son of a Barbarian!" Markon barked. "Those Soul Killers drove T'Chark away." "All very sad, but that's your problem." Kobra smugly pointed out. "Now our soldier force? At least they stuck together… no traitors or anyone who dared to attack their leaders." Kobra was suddenly put in his place, as a powerful force smashed him in the side of his face and caused him to crash into the dirt. Markon was stunned and lost concentration for a minute. When he did, Kobra was bleeding from his mouth and was holding onto the part of his face where he was hit. Markon looked up to see an angry, jittered Jareek standing over Kobra with the butt of his Boltok pistol covered in blood. "You! You killed him!" Jareek Snarled. "Because of you, he's dead!" Jareek went for another swing, but a Grenadier and Sniper Drone leapt out and grabbed Jareek's arms, he dropped the Boltok and struggled in the two Locust's grip. "He needed me!" Jareek screamed. "Without me he was helpless! Yet you still lead him to his death!" The two Locust began to drag Jareek away and back to his own shack, though he was kicking and screaming all the way. Major Kobra, though very old, managed to pick himself up almost instantly. "What was it you said?" Markon spat. "I'm going to have that little wretch bait killed for that!" Kobra snarled. That's when Nokada intervened. "Excuse me, but before you go barbaric again, I think I can calm him down." She announced to Kobra. The Major looked a little stunned, but he turned to Markon, who shrugged as if to say "Go with it." "Very well." He sighed. Before Nokada left, she quickly turned to Markon. "And I'll deal with you later." She hissed. Markon was taken back by that comment, he became a little confused. Shaking his head as Nokada left them. Nokada looked around until she spotted Ara with Braahk, the two were sitting outside her shack, looking over little Chex. "Ara!" Nokada called. "Over here!" Ara looked up and saw Nokada. Seeing that she was needed, Ara then nervously looked at Braahk and slowly handed over Chex. "Take care of him for a moment… please?" She gulped. "No worries, I do good!" Braahk reassured. Ara got up and went over to join Nokada, it seemed a little risky, leaving a youngling with a giant brute of a Locust, but she'd grown to trust Braahk a lot, so Chex was probably in safe hands. Nokada took Ara to where Jareek had been taken, The Grenadier and Sniper still stood outside, a little weary of the berserk Bolter. Nokada took off her helmet before approaching the entrance. "Don't worry, we know what to do." Nokada assured the two Locust. They nodded and let the Priestess's pass. Nokada stepped inside to see Jareek standing in the corner of his hut, his head hunched down and beating his fists together while muttering incoherently. "Young one?" Nokada asked. Jareek suddenly turned and Nokada saw the empty, heartbroken look in his eyes. "Where is he? Where's the murderer?!" He snapped. Nokada suddenly grabbed him and forced him to sit on his bed. "Easy now!" Nokada hushed. "I can sense you are in pain, my friend Ara wishes to help you." Jareek was still twitchy and eager to find the so called "murderer" but he slowly tried to calm down as Ara approached him. Ara gabbed hold of his head and placed her index fingers on his temples. Jareek seemed to stop jittering as Ara looked straight at him. "You are Jareek?" Ara asked. Jareek nodded yes. "I sense you are in deep pain over a loss." Ara announced. "Your Brother?" "B…Bohvak, he was called Bohvak." Jareek whimpered. "Tell me of him." Ara asked. "Headstrong… eager to fight, he needed me to keep him… in line, so that… he wouldn't… do anything too dangerous." Jareek stuttered. "I promised… to take… care of him. Keep him safe." "I can sense that you did well, but something happened?" Ara noted. "Ground walkers… invaded Nexus… Me and him were ordered to guard different parts." Jareek explained, though very slurred. "Couldn't keep him safe… killed by… dark ones." Ara looked at Nokada, both seemed a little unsure. "Tried to stay strong, though couldn't." Jareek stammered. "They killed him…" "The Dark Ones?" Ara asked. "No… our leaders… they sent him to his death!" Jareek suddenly snapped, though Ara pressed his temples harder, calming him down. "Had I been there… he'd be alive." "You are filled with an urge to extract revenge upon your leaders… though T'Chark can't allow this." Ara ordered. Jareek looked up at her. "Your superiors are blinded by… Queen Myrrah's lies." Ara stuttered herself. "They cannot be redeemed, yet you can!" Jareek began to slowly fall asleep, Ara rested him on his bed. "Your Brother is safe with T'Chark, he still lives, protected from the dark ones and Myrrah by the Goddess. He is safe…" "Safe…" Jareek slurred, before falling asleep. Ara got up and turned to back to Nokada. "Very nicely done… though did you have to add some of Ithak's teachings?" Nokada sighed. "I'm sorry, I… didn't know what else to say." Ara gulped. "We do need to free these survivors from Myrrah's lies, but not make our own fanatical savages." Nokada warned. "Let's get going now." Nokada and Ara stepped out of the shack and were greeted by a surprised Sniper Drone. "Jareek calmed down?" He asked. "Old Priestess hypnotism." Ara explained with a smile. - Onwa was beginning to approach Hakar's shack, he wanted to tell Hakar that he had been to see Priest Quaar and now knew about what he had been told. Just as he was about to enter, a voice suddenly caught his attention. "If you're looking for the deserter, he's not there." Barked a hostile voice. Onwa's shoulders sunk and he sighed, turning around, he saw Ferex standing there, arms folded. "Not now Ferex…" Onwa sighed. "I'm not hiding my thoughts like everyone else." Ferex hissed. "My friend died because of him!" "Did he kill her himself? I doubt it, so leave him be." Onwa growled, losing patience. "Abandoning her, leaving her to grow more and more worried until she killed herself? Yes, I'd say he's responsible." Ferex snapped. "Filthy creature…" Suddenly, Onwa lost all restraint. He grabbed hold of Ferex and pinned her to the walls of Hakar's shack. "Now listen here!" He snarled. "I've had it up to here with everyone bad mouthing Hakar! I won't stand for it anymore!" Ferex squirmed in Onwa's grip, but despite her strong front, she was absolutely terrified. "You see, we are falling apart, we're barely surviving now. The last thing we need is someone to start causing trouble." Onwa hissed. "So I'll let you off with a warning, if you make Hakar any worse than he is now… I will not hesitate in killing you myself! No one would miss you!" "Y… You're just saying that!" Ferex gulped. Onwa suddenly sunk his razor teeth into Ferex's left arm, not enough to cause a scream, but just enough to shock her. Onwa let go of Ferex to let her look at the now bleeding injury. "Consider that a friendly warning." Onwa growled through his gritted teeth. Onwa left the shocked Ferex behind, he'd had it with all the back talk about Hakar. Next one may not be lucky. - Nokada and Ara returned back to Ara's shack, the latter seemed a little bit shaky. Though Nokada could understand why. "He doesn't seem like the others, so I wouldn't worry too much." Nokada assured. Sure enough, when they got back to Ara's shack, Braahk was sitting by the entrance, Chex perfectly safe. In fact, the youngling had come out of his blanket a little more, as he stroked the chin of the second Soul Killer Reaver. The Reaver's rumble was much deeper than it's sibling, but, just like Braahk, it was big yet affectionate and let little Chex stroke it for as long as he wanted. Braahk looked up to see the two Priestess's had returned. "All good! No trouble!" Braahk smiled. The Grinder then slowly and gently handed Chex back to Ara, who smiled in delight. She looked up at Braahk and nodded thankfully. Braahk took the Reaver with him and began to walk away. "Thought so." Nokada said. Nokada then looked to see that Chex was starting to stroke her belly. She simply sighed and smiled, while Ara masked a giggle. The moment stopped as Nokada saw Markon up ahead, walking around. "I'll be right back." Nokada announced, putting her helmet back on.

WOW!

Chapter 16

\- An Unknown Location. It was a portion of the underground that had escaped being flooded by the sinking of Jacinto. A humongous, open spaced cave like area that sat right underneath the surface of somewhere far, far away. Out of a large tunnel emerged an Icon long forgotten to most of the Horde. A holy deity that was worshipped until Queen Myrrah demanded a war with the surface, reverting the Locust Horde to mindless monsters hell bent on killing the humans while forgetting about their true enemy. The Goddess T'Chark T'Chark raised up her head and slowly moved her centipede like legs that resided at the front of her. She was concentrating, she could feel a strange presence. Somewhere, out there, The Locust were changing in all kinds of way. Thinking deeper, T'Chark thought she could feel the presence of one of her own, a survivor of the cult "T'Chark Chosen" in the company of many. "Must… try and make contact." T'Chark thought. "I sense her, I sense the company around her… they are realising how they were deceived…" T'Chark lowered her head and went still, concentrating as hard as she could… - Back at the Survivalists hideout, Zaach sat down with Onwa's Reaver, he had just taken it for it's feed. Though the Reaver didn't always leave Zaach after feeding, sometimes it stuck around, perhaps wanting to see if Zaach would cave in and give it more. Of course, The Soul Killer never did. Zaach could feel his hearts going like the clappers, even now, he was still a little worried that Hakar hadn't calmed down, Zaach was scared of his leader's wrath. Then again, at least he wasn't alone. Heck, even other Locust were scared of Hakar. As Zaach kept his thoughts to himself, he noticed that the Reaver was backing up and making a whining noise. A little confused, Zaach then felt like either a crowd, or someone VERY big was looming over him. Zaach gulped and turned around. Three Grenadiers were looming over him, though these ones looked a lot tougher than any normal Grenadier. Very muscular and their faces had much sharper scowls on them. Zaach got up to face the Locust trio. "So, we've been told about how our so called Queen betrayed us." The lead Grenadier barked. "How she sent us to our deaths just for her amusement." "… and how you helped her!" Another Grenadier snarled. Zaach was taken back, he gave the trio a confused look, which only seemed to anger them even more. "Don't play dumb Soul Killer!" The leader growled. "Queen's Elite, telling us to keep fighting in her name, encouraging us to pointlessly go to our deaths for a false cause!" "What?!" Zaach snapped. "We did no such thing, we were deceived as well!" The three Grenadiers stepped closer to Zaach, one was cracking his fists, the other was punching one hand into his other, open one. Zaach found himself backtracking, the Reaver could only cower. "Perhaps you need waking up as well?" The leader mocked. At that moment, Ithak emerged behind the Grenadiers, she was just having a wander around when she noticed the three Locust ganging up on Zaach. Shocked, Ithak rushed over. "What's going on?" She demanded. "Like you said Priestess, we were lied to by the Queen." The lead cackled. "We just thought her Elite should know how we feel." Ithak was shocked, though her shock quickly turned to anger. She marched past the Grenadiers and stood in front of them, covering Zaach. "Are you drones that dense?" She snapped. "Did I not also say how The Soul Killers were lied to and how she just used them as tools?" "Don't try and defend them!" The lead Grenadier barked, though this only served to annoy Ithak even more. Ithak tried to get a word in edgeways, but the lead Grenadier cut her off. "Stand down, we're going to teach this Soul Killer about our pain!" Ithak couldn't take it anymore, taking the trio by surprise, she delivered a swift kick straight into the leader's stomach, sending him flying back and crashing onto the ground. The other two were dumbstruck by this attack, which Ithak used to her advantage, she grabbed both Grenadiers and slammed their heads together, before throwing both to one side. Ithak brushed her hands, satisfied with the work done. She then walked over to the leader, who was still picking himself up, though he stopped once he saw Ithak looking at him. She then knelt down beside the leader and shot him an angry glare. "Let that be a lesson, if you've got a problem with them, you've got a problem with me… and you don't want to get on my bad side…" Ithak hissed. The leader nodded nervously, before dusting himself off and making a break for it. Ithak folded her arms and sighed, disappointed. "How could they not miss that comment? I made it clear." She complained, before turning back to Zaach. "No offence about the whole drone comment." Zaach just raised his hand, taking deep breaths. He was shaken up by that near miss. "Thank you." He panted. "That was my fault." Ithak sheepishly admitted. "I'm trying to wake everyone up about Queen Myrrah's lies. Though some seem to be ignoring the parts about how you Soul Killers are free from her deception… maybe they'd listen to Sauvix…" "Everyone's still shaken up, perhaps wanting to express their anger for being betrayed?" Zaach suggested. Ithak just shrugged. "Well… thank you again." Zaach thanked. "No problem." Ithak smiled. "It was fun saving a scared Soul Killer." "Huh?" "It was amusing to see a member of the 'Elite Locust' look scared, if you'll forgive me." Ithak gently mocked. "Well… yes… but… I…" Zaach stuttered, he kept getting thrown off by Ithak's playful grin. "…Stop grinning at me!" Zaach suddenly snapped, before storming off. Ithak seemed a little confused, she gave the storming off Zaach and unsure look, before shrugging and walking away. Leaving the Reaver just as confused. - Zaach was repeating the words "Losing it" over and over in his head. Normally, he wouldn't be shaken up by that sort of ordeal, but that meant he was coming under fire from two fronts. His leader and these other survivors. Hopefully, the other two Priestesses would calm the survivors down, assuring them that everyone here was on the same side. Zaach stood still for a second to catch his breath, he just needed a minute or two to calm down. Though he wasn't going to get that. Out of nowhere, he felt a hand grab hold of his shoulder, he instantly recognized who it was and could feel his hearts go even faster. Slowly and nervously turning around, Zaach saw he was face to face with Hakar. However, his leader didn't look angry. "Wait Zaach." Hakar announced. "I need to tell you something." Zaach tried to slow down his breathing as Hakar took his hand off Zaach's shoulder. Hakar himself took a deep breath before beginning. "The way I acted after you strayed away, I feel that wasn't fair." Hakar confessed. Zaach could suddenly control his hearts and breathing, a strange sense of relief went through his body. "I… It was my fault though." Zaach reassured, trying not to shift all the guilt to Hakar. "I should never has disobeyed…" Zaach didn't finish, Hakar raised his hand, implying he wanted to speak. "I haven't been honest with you, I never told you what Priest Quaar told me after I went to see him." Hakar began. "This may sound a bit shocking." Zaach nodded, prepared to listen. "When I spoke with Quaar, he said that I should protect you, keep you away from a 'danger' he foresaw." Hakar explained. "That's why I didn't want you out of my sight… I feared you would get killed." Startled, Zaach tried to say something, but he couldn't seem to make any words. Danger? He was a little confused. "For too long, Soul Killers have perished, I refuse to let anymore die." Hakar admitted. "I always thought as long as they remained under my protection, they'd survive. Then, one by one, many perished, I lied to them." "I thought Krall and Torgr would survive. Though I left them behind and they died… no longer will that happen! No longer will we suffer the pain of losing a Soul Killer… We are going to survive!" "I see…" Zaach stuttered, still unable to make any words. "Please… forgive the way I acted…" Hakar pleaded. "It's okay… what with losing our home, I think everyone is on the edge." Hakar smiled, Zaach seemed to be perking back to his old self. Sure enough, Zaach nodded and left. "I heard what Quaar said as well." Called a voice. Hakar turned around to see Onwa was standing behind him. The Soul Killer leader simply sighed. He knew he had to talk to Onwa about that as well. - Ithak was continuing her walk around, she felt a need to keep on the move, even if it was just walking back and forth between the same shacks. It didn't seem to bother her. As she continued, she noticed that Nokada was also out and about, though it seemed like she had an objective on her mind. "Nokada!" Ithak called "Problem?" Nokada stopped for a minute and went over to Ithak, to explain what she was doing. "I need to set things straight with Brother Markon." Nokada explained. "He needs to learn something about those Soul Killers." "Like the others do!" Ithak barked. "I had to save that Zaach from a couple of Grenadiers, they still thought The Soul Killers were serving that Queen!" "This is what I was concerned about." Nokada sighed. "I'm not against us trying to tell these survivors about Myrrah's lies, but we must tread carefully, as saying the wrong thing could set off a brawl." "They're just not listening to everything…" Ithak mumbled. "Though I'm glad you think my preaching is a right move." "Yes, yes." Nokada replied hastily. "Keep at it, but try not to incite aggression… even you could do that." Ithak was a little hurt by that comment, she just brushed it aside as Nokada continued onward to find Brother Markon. As she did, Ithak vented a little. "Ha, ha ha." She sarcastically grumbled. - Brother Markon sat outside Priest Quaar's hut, like he always did. He'd just come back from a walk of his own. After seeing the Drone Jareek react like that, he needed a little clearing space. He scanned all the goings on, seems as though the survivors will still remaining quiet, aside from the odd glare to one another, things seemed calm. "Brother Markon." Called a voice. Perking up, Markon looked over to see that Priestess Nokada had approached him and was now standing right next to him. "Oh, Priestess!" Markon stuttered, bowing his head. Nokada then sarcastically laughed. "Funny, how you still respect me even though I've killed humans, yet A Soul Killer is scum to you." She pointed out. Markon didn't know how to respond to that. "Well… you had to survive… The Soul Killer… is just barbaric!" Markon spluttered. "Why, though?" Nokada demanded. They'd only talked for a few seconds, yet already, Nokada had the upper hand in this discussion. "The Soul Killer is… The Soul Killers… they… they're…" Markon stumbled over his words. "They're responsible." "For what?" "For all of this… for serving The Queen…" "You did." Nokada pointed out. "Her aide-de-camp, was it?" "I… I only did that to protect myself… if she found out I still worshipped our true goddess, she'd have me executed." Markon pleaded. "At any rate, Skorge placed me by her side and I hated every moment of it." Nokada didn't seem convinced, she just folded her arms and casually inspected her claws. Markon, not very happy with not being believed, pulled out his old Trinity of Worms emblem, the one before the "New Testament" was written. "I still believe in her… though those Soul Killers… they did that!" "What?" Nokada asked. "The Soul Killer was revived moments after the disappearance of T'Chark… and my master, High Priest Setnar." Markon explained. "The one Priest that had hope for me, believed I could make it… driven away by The Queen and her sick elite." "You honestly believe that Hakar and his crew personally scared away our Goddess?" Nokada asked, shaking her head. "The Soul Killer Rank!" Markon protested. "T'Chark's disappearance and the revival of that soldier spelled doom for our race! Look around you." Nokada pinched the bridge of her nose, she couldn't believe what she was hearing. For a "Kantus Brother" Markon was very delusional. "That is where you are wrong." Nokada began. "It's all down to Queen Myrrah." Markon looked straight at Nokada. "Queen Myrrah lied to the Horde, she thought that salvation would be brought upon us, should we destroy the humans. Though T'Chark knew we couldn't fight two wars, that is what would lead us to our demise." Nokada explained. "Yet the Queen chose to ignore her and, seeing the humans as nothing more than savages, waged war against them. T'Chark saw no choice but to retreat, she wanted no part in Myrrah's war." "The Soul Killers, like the rest of the horde, were lied to. Myrrah used them as puppets for her war, leading them on a false trail. Should we have tried to convince them, Myrrah would have had us silenced." Nokada continued. A sudden rush of realisation flooded through Markon, only now did he realise he was hating the wrong enemy. "They were misguided Markon, though now they know of her deception, along with all these others." Nokada summed up. "Think of how they feel, being betrayed by Myrrah and left to die." "Yes… you're right." Markon gasped, still a little shocked. "I… need a moment to think." Nokada nodded and patted him on the shoulder, before leaving him. - As Nokada kept walking away, she suddenly thought she could feel someone was nearby. Turning around, she saw that, much to her surprise, Priest Quaar was out, approaching her. "Young Priestess, a moment?" He asked. Nokada bowed her head in respect. "You… you say you have another with you, though she remains in a slumber?" Quaar inquired. "Yes, Galai, she's resting nearby." Nokada replied. "May I see her?" Quaar requested. Nokada nodded and lead Quaar towards Galai's shack. She slowed her pace so that the elderly priest could keep up. Galai's shack was fairly large, as she needed a big, yet comfortable place to rest. Outside, two drones, instructed by Nokada herself, stood guard. They raised their attention to see Nokada and Quaar approach. "Quaar wishes to see Galai." She said, the guards nodded and stood to one side. "If I may, I'd like to be alone." Quaar requested. "I'd like some concentration space while I see if she has had contact with the goddess." "Very well." Nokada replied, she bowed once more and left Quaar alone. The Priest stepped inside. Quaar saw that Galai rested on her back, perfectly still, save for her breathing. Quaar was rather upset to see how prison life had torn her apart. She no longer had her robes, or rather, they had been torn to pieces and only small stubs remained, she didn't have her leg pads, leaving them completely bare. All that remained of her clothing was her badly beaten chest armour, with a small, ripped up cloth like sling around it, and her tatty, torn shorts. Though the main thing that caught Quaar's attention were the signs of self harm the Priestess had done to herself. He saw that down her wrists were signs of self inflicted claw marks, like she had been scratching herself hard enough to let blood seep out. Quaar then noted that Galai's head had several bruises, though the way they were shaped, it seemed as though she had repeatedly hit her own head against the wall. Galai also had an imprint of what looked like rope around her neck, suggesting she had tried to hang herself. Finally, Quaar saw the tattoos around her belly button, though just above her navel, it looked like a portion of skin had been ripped clean off, as there was a bloody scab there. Judging by the other tattoos, had there been one she resented? It couldn't have been "T'Chark" as that tattoo was still on. She was the only survivor of "T'Charks Chosen" as the rumour said that all the others committed suicide while in their holding cells. Quaar sighed in shame. "So young…" Quaar sighed. "Though do not threat my dear… I'm sure T'Chark knows of your innocence and has forgive you." "And she senses innocence among you, Quaar." Boomed a voice. Startled, Quaar looked around to see if he could find who just said that. A penny dropped when he was certain there was alone two of them in this shack. Quaar looked down to see Galai was awake and staring right at him, though her eyes glowed blue… and the voice that spoke was not hers, but someone else's… "Priest Quaar." The voice announced through Galai. Quaar knew who was speaking…

cool stuff

Chapter 17 or 18?

\- **The Hollow Two Months before the human invasion of The Hollow.** Nearby the Nexus, resided a temple known as "The Séance", this was the home of a group of Kantus Monks and Priestesses known as "T'Chark's chosen" Why were they called that? It was believed that these members of the Kantus sect had been personally chosen by the goddess to communicate with her. It was said that they could telepathically talk to T'Chark, and one particular member could be used by her to speak to her subjects, a sort of vessel, if you will. High Priest Setnar, before his disappearance, was the leader and overall, the one who spoke to T'Chark the most. Before waging war on the humans, Myrrah would get Setnar to summon the goddess for her so that she may give her advice. The other most notable member was none other than Setnar's successor, High Priest Skorge. Though how had these chosen members survived? After E-Day and T'Chark's disappearance, the Kantus party tore apart, with many siding with Queen Myrrah, completely rewriting the trinity of worms. Preaching a false testament that inspired the lower Locust to continue their crusade against the humans, with fake promises of salvation from the Lambent. Anyone who spoke against Myrrah and believed in T'Chark were considered traitors. However, T'Chark's chosen managed to fool the Queen by announcing themselves as "Agnostics", while secretly still worshipping T'Chark and hoping for her to return. Agnostics were those who didn't know who to believe, they were generally left alone by the others. Though most T'Chark worshippers called Agnostics "Sleepers" who needed "Awakening" to T'Chark, while Myrrah loyalists called them "Possibly Heretics" However, the awaking of the Riftworm caused an even bigger stir amongst the Kantus race, High Priest Skorge, a somewhat agnostic, saw the creature's revival as a sign that maybe T'Chark had "Come to her senses" and was willing to help them fight the humans. Skorge continually told this to the chosen, who, while a little sceptical, also grew excited for T'Chark's return. The Riftworm itself, being in hibernation for so long, had no clue as to what had happened to the Kantus, or the Locust in general. Skorge found he could communicate with the Riftworm, but he was more of a guide to it, rather than a speaker. Skorge thought he'd "Test" his guidance by using the Riftworm to sink COG bases and small towns. Still eager about T'Chark's possible return, Skorge requested that Myrrah allow the chosen to try and speak with T'Chark, to see if she was really returning to ensure victory over the humans. However, T'Chark was disgusted by the manipulation of the Riftworm, and thus regretfully, rejected the chosen, sending them into their crazed, suicidal state. His hope shattered, Skorge fully converted his loyalty to Myrrah and continued to use the Riftworm to sink human cities. - At The Séance, many Kantus Monks and Priestesses sat around, talking about all the events that had struck the hollow, The Lightmass bombing, the narrow victory over the Lambent's first strike on Nexus, and of course, news of the Riftworm. Priestess Galai sat on a small, throne like seat and watched as the other members of the group talked away. One monk was having another tattoo branded to his stomach, while another monk meditated quietly. Galai planned to go searching for any lost T'Chark artefacts out in the hollows, if T'Chark was returning, maybe those artefacts would show her their true loyalty. "Sister Galai?" Called a voice. Galai looked up and saw a Kantus monk approach her. "Yes, Brother Kaller?" Galai asked, tilting her head in a manner that suggested he come to sit next to her. Sure enough, Kaller pulled up a seat of his own and sat down. "I heard you plan to go searching for artefacts… may I join you?" He requested. "Of course, dear friend." Galai smiled. "A few of us will be heading off shortly." "What of the rumours of the Dark One's newest warriors?" Kaller warned. "Some say the two of them single handily defeated a squad of Theron Sentinels!" "That… I will confess to being concerned about… but T'Chark's return is too much for us to miss! As long as we don't stall, we should make it there and back in one piece." Galai announced. "Yes… you're right." Kaller said. Galai then hoisted herself up off her chair and clapped her hands, two other monks and another priestess all got up and began to equip themselves with Gorgon burst pistols and ink grenades. Hopefully, they wouldn't need them, but it was just to be on the safe side. "Galai… one other thing." Kaller said, placing his hand on Galai's shoulder. Galai stopped and turned to look at Kaller, he seemed to have a look of grave worry on his face. "You… you don't think Skorge has lied to us?" He gulped. "Do you think he speaks the truth when he announces to us that T'Chark is returning." Galai gulped herself, that question had her temporarily lost for words. "Is the Riftworm really a sign of her return?" Kaller added. "I think T'Chark has returned… but we will only know until we summon her." Galai replied. Before Galai turned to join the other searchers, she looked back to Kaller and said a remark… one that she would end up regretting… "I trust Skorge… he wouldn't lie to us…" - **The Present Moment** Priest Quaar stood completely still, too shocked to move or speak as Galai moved to sit on the bed, rather than lie on it. Of course, it wasn't Galai that was moving… …It was T'Chark. The words of The Chosen were true, T'Chark could use one of them as a way of speaking to her followers. Quaar fell to his knees, his lips trembled and his arms shook uncontrollably, he didn't know what to think. Fear, shock, amazement and joy all ran through his mind at the same time, each emotion battling for control. Galai stared at Quaar with her bright, blue eyes. She remained silent for a few more seconds, before finally speaking to the priest. "Priest Quaar…" Was all T'Chark uttered at first. "My… My Goddess… you… live?!" Quaar stuttered "After all this pointless slaughter… you still live!" "I have survived and have seen everything, the destruction of the outer hollow, the sinking of Nexus, the countless deaths… Myrrah should have heeded my warning." T'Chark boomed. Quaar's eyes began to fill up, the sheer fact that he was speaking to T'Chark was too much to take in, but T'Chark suddenly had more to say. "However, I have sensed that the beings here have not been corrupted, or they have been broken free of Myrrah's lies." T'Chark continued. "At last, after finding the last of my chosen… I can speak with them." Even with his trembling lips, Quaar managed to make a smile. Though suddenly, Galai clenched her head and began to try and lie down again. "Goddess, what is wrong?!" Quaar yelped. "Losing concentration…" T'Chark replied, her voice getting weaker. "Will return… soon…" Galai then closed her eyes and fell back into her deep sleep. Quaar stood dumbfounded for several seconds, before suddenly snapping back. "Markon!" He yelled. "MARKON!" Outside, Brother Markon heard the call from Quaar and rushed over to Galai's hut. Stepping inside, Markon saw the shaken up, yet excited Quaar standing next to the sleeping Galai. "What is it?" Markon asked. "She… she spoke to me Markon!" Quaar cheered, grabbing Markon's shoulders. "She actually spoke to me!" "The Priestess? But she is unconscious!" Markon protested. Quaar's look dropped from excited to annoyed. "Not the Priestess you imbecile!" He snapped. "T'Chark!" Markon's eyes lit up with shock, T'Chark? Was he serious?! "The… The Goddess?" Markon spluttered. "Yes boy! She lives!" Quaar uttered excitedly. "Are… are you sure?" Markon gulped. Again, Quaar wasn't amused by that comment. "Do you think I'd lie?" Quaar snapped. "Do you think I'm some senile corpse that needs looking after?! I'd recognize my own Goddess!" Markon stood back and raised his hands up, he didn't want any trouble, best thing to do was to go along with Quaar. Markon didn't want to show any disrespect towards the elderly priest. "Will she speak again?" Markon asked uneasily. "She will return in due time boy." Quaar replied. "Though one encounter… that's all I need." - Outside, most other Locust remained oblivious that their true deity had just spoken to Priest Quaar. They continued with their daily tasks of trying to stay sane. Though up here, the chances of that were very slim. Zaach sat down with Haulac near a fire, not really doing much, just trying to pass the time. "So, you know why your leader went berserk?" Haulac nervously asked. "Yes, though why he didn't just tell me, I find disturbing." Zaach replied. "Though your fine now?" Zaach just nodded, the fact that Quaar had seen him in some kind of danger didn't really seem to bother him. He's a Soul Killer, they were always on some kind of high risk, almost suicidal mission, Zaach had gotten used to it. Though had Quaar told him everything? Was there anything he was holding back? Zaach tried not to think about that. The fact that he and Hakar were okay with each other was the only thing he needed to think about at the moment. - Elsewhere, Sauvix and Ithak walked about the settlement, the two of them were discussing various things. Though Sauvix, much to Ithak's surprise, asked about Galai's "Chosen" group. Sauvix was a sceptic that never really believed in the whole "Worm Gods and Goddess's" idea. Ithak, however, had found a way around that and got him a little interested. "So, tell me about the chosen then?" Sauvix started. "What made them so special?" "They could communicate with T'Chark." Ithak explained. "Not only that, but T'Chark could speak through one of them, use them as a vessel to talk with the horde." "Yet, they were spared by The Queen because…?" Sauvix asked. "They fooled that dumb Queen by convincing her they were agnostic." Ithak grinned. "She believed they were contemplating joining her. Though they'd never dare." Sauvix nodded. "Things changed when the Riftworm arrived, Skorge convinced them that T'Chark had sent the Riftworm as a sign that she was ready to help them fight the humans. They were twisted into believing that T'Chark wanted the humans destroyed, and sure enough, they believed him." Ithak continued. "Just because The Riftworm awoke?" Sauvix asked. "Don't know why they got so excited though… T'Chark never spoke highly of the Riftworm." Ithak grunted. "Right… sort of the deadbeat child T'Chark never really wanted to talk about." Sauvix joked. Ithak laughed at that comment. "You could say that." She chortled. "I always thought Velax, the Worm of Wisdom, was T'Chark's favourite son." Sauvix did nod, but Ithak could see that he still wasn't entirely convinced. "I'm still not so sure." He sighed. "As interesting as it sounds, I'd need firmer proof." Little did Sauvix realise, all the proof he needed was heading his way.

What is gonna happen

Chapter 18

\- Two Locust Drones sat outside, depressed as the grey skies continued to loom over them. Feeling the sting of losing their homes and their Queen going missing was starting to really let them down. They had heard about the possibility of Myrrah leading the Locust to their downfall, but they still remained unsure. One of the drones spotted another weasel creature scurrying along the floor, he grabbed it by it's neck without even looking at it. He was too depressed to even think about anything. He looked over to the other drone, but he didn't seem too interested in the meal. The drone sighed before biting the weasel's head clean off, blood oozed out of the headless corpse and tricked through the drone's mouth. Bits of fur got caught on the drone's teeth, but the Locust soldier was far too down and out to care. Then, something happened, something that did interest the two Locust. It was strange, it felt like the grey skies were actually clearing. Next, a bright light suddenly hit the two drones, they squirmed and covered their eyes with their fists. It felt as though the bright light was coming from above them. One drone managed to peer through his fingers and just about made out the light source. Sure enough, it was coming from the sky above them. "Sky light?" He asked himself. At the same time, Zaach and Haulac were walking over to Sauvix and Ithak, who had just finished their discussion about "The Chosen". Before Zaach could start a sentence, the group was also struck by the bright light. Haulac had to cover his eyes completely, Ithak only had to do it slightly, while Zaach and Sauvix simply tilted their heads. "Urgh! Some sort of sky light!" Haulac groaned, stumbling back. "Sauvix, isn't that the sun?" Zaach asked. "Of course." Sauvix replied. "It feels like aeons since we last saw it." "Oh, Nokada and Ara were right in calling it 'The Sun'" Ithak added. Sauvix and Zaach both turned to Ithak. Sauvix smiled slyly. "Why? What did you call it?" He inquired. "Great Fireball of the sky world?" Ithak darted her eyes back between Zaach and Sauvix, she had a look of uncertainty on her face, like she didn't know how they'd react if she told them what she thought it was called. "… No." She sheepishly replied. - At her Cave, T'Chark rested her head. She needed a few moments to concentrate, so that she could once again, try and make contact through Priestess Galai. She still couldn't believe how Skorge manipulated the chosen into thinking she had "Seen sense" and was willing to help fight the humans. They were a complicated species, humans had a tendency to destroy things they do not understand. However, if one could win their trust with peaceful intentions, then humans wouldn't be so hostile. Granted, there'd be those who still be xenophobes. Though did Myrrah REALLY try and make contact with the humans, or was her journey to the surface a charade? Did she know about the humans all along and felt the desire to destroy them, due to a past secret? Myrrah was probably the one being in the hollow T'Chark never really understood. Though it was thanks to her that the war escalated, and humans and locust would forever try to kill each other. "It's time." T'Chark announced to herself. She raised her head again… ready to make contact. - Priest Quaar sat alone with the unconscious Galai. He was waiting for T'Chark to make contact with him again, he didn't care how long it would take, he would wait for her until his hearts stopped. All his life, he had remained loyal to T'Chark, even after Myrrah had the Inquisitors converted into her Enforcers and have them butcher the Trinity of worms teachings. Re-writing the testament into a hate filled genocide campaign. Some even dared to write in them that T'Chark was for the human extermination. Thankfully, many T'Chark loyalists found these slanderous pages and burnt them. Cleansing the Worm Goddess's name. "Priest Quaar" called the voice. Quaar looked up and a smile was slapped onto his face, T'Chark was once again talking through Galai. Her eyes glowing blue, just like last time. Galai actually picked herself up and got off the bed. She stood before Quaar, who bowed his head in respect. "T'Chark, I knew you would return." Quaar said. "However, there are those, such as Brother Markon, who are unsure." "Student of High Priest Setnar?" T'Chark asked. "Indeed." T'Chark pondered, she remember High Priest Setnar, how he tried to convince Myrrah's war commanders not to lead the assault on the humans. None listening, So Setnar retreated with her. "Then… it is time these poor souls were to be freed from their clouded vision." T'Chark announced. Quaar smiled and lead Galai outside… - Hakar and Onwa walked side by side, too busy talking to notice that the sun had finally come out, pushing the dark grey skies away. "I should have told Zaach about what Quaar told me." Hakar confessed. "It would've been easier for us." Onwa added. "I just cannot risk losing any more of us." Hakar gulped. "All my life I've watched many Soul Killers fight and die, I don't want the pain of losing soldiers that were under my guidance anymore." "You cannot keep pinning the blame on yourself Hakar." Onwa reassured. "It's bad enough that there are some who give you grief…" Onwa then turned away from Hakar and looked behind him, Ferex was standing behind the corner of one of the shacks. Looking at the two Soul Killers talking. Onwa darted her a quick snarl which sent her away. "It's hard to shake the feeling that you played a part in leading them to their deaths." Hakar sighed. "I'm telling you now… you will destroy your guilt." Onwa demanded through a quiet whisper. "You lead your troops to great victory… not to their demise." Hakar knew every word Onwa said was right, he could trust Onwa with his life. Though it was difficult to forget about those who passed away. Hakar always felt the desire the avenge the deaths of comrades, though if he couldn't find a way, the guilt would only get worse. "LOOK!" Screamed a voice. Hakar and Onwa then rushed over to where the voice came from. They saw a large crowd, consisting of every single survivor in the camp, staring, whispering and gasping at a certain sight. Hakar and Onwa managed to push forward to get a better look. It certainly was a shock. Priest Quaar was leading Galai outside and towards a large stone that looked to be used as some kind of speaking altar. All the locust murmured amongst themselves, amazed at what they were seeing. The way Galai's eyes glowed bright blue, the way she looked as though she was just shrugging off her self inflicted wounds. Also, Priest Quaar looked happy… very happy. Galai climbed up the rock and stared straight at the crowd of locust, who all dropped silent. "Brethren… Survivors! I have wonderful news!" Quaar cheered. The locust all looked straight at him. "Our Goddess T'Chark… she has returned!" Quaar then pointed straight at Galai, who continued to stand still and stare at the crowd. There was an uproar of activity… - Brother Markon stood gob smacked, unable to do anything except gawk at the Priestess said to T'Chark. It was true then, a member of the chosen could be used as a vessel by T'Chark, so that she may speak with her followers. "So… do you think I'm a senile dreamer now?" Quaar mocked. It took Markon a few seconds to realise that Quaar was standing next to him. "I… I never meant to… say…" Markon stuttered, still too shocked to speak. "Don't patronize me, you thought I was crazy when I said T'Chark spoke to me… though there you go! There she is! Speaking through the Priestess Galai! Markon just kept staring in amazement… - Jareek wandered past the drones around him and managed to get a good look at Galai. Priest Quaar said that this was… T'Chark? The one the Priestess Ara had said was real? The one who was driven away? The dream he had… the supposed "Supreme Deity" that was now cleansing and protected his brother's soul. "She… she's real." Jareek stammered. The bolter drone then collapsed to his knees, although he didn't look it, he was overcome with joy. "She… she is real! They were right… She is here!" He gulped. "And… and she's look…looking after Bohvak." Jareek kept looking at Galai for a few more seconds. "Your… Your safe now Bohvak…" - Sauvix had mixed feelings, he was astonished at what he was seeing, T'Chark was supposedly using Galai to talk to them. Though at the same time, the scientific part of his mind was refusing to believe in this whole thing. He never really was one for the Trinity of worms, whatever the testament. Then again, he couldn't really argue with this. "Hey… is that Galai?" Zaach pointed out. "The Priestess we rescued from the snow plains of the surface?" "That particular plain was called Oksjord." Sauvix replied, then realising his scientific side was getting in the way. "And yes, it is her. The Lost here rescued her from the Palace holding cells." "Why?" Haulac added. "Long story." Ithak then placed her hands on Sauvix's shoulders, she knelt her head down slightly and gave Sauvix a sly smile of her own. "Is that the proof you need?" She grinned. "Do you believe in T'Chark now?" Sauvix was lost, he'd always assumed that if T'Chark was real, she would've been killed in either the light mass bombing or the great flood. But no, there she was, appearing before them in the form of Galai. "I… don't know." Sauvix gulped. - Braahk, like the rest of the crowd, was lost for words. He'd never been told about T'Chark or anything about the Trinity, no, he was still treated as a dumb monster by all. Except for now. Braahk turned to Ara, who stood next to him. "Is her?" He asked. "Is… Tcherk?" "T'Chark, yes it is her." Ara smiled. "In a way." "Huh? What you mean?" "T'Chark is using the Priestess Galai as a way of talking to us." Ara explained. "She can do that with some Kantus." "Wow! She sound powerful… does she look like paintings?" Braahk questioned. "Nokada is very accurate in her paintings." Ara replied, smiling and nudging Braahk's large shoulder. Chex, still wrapped in his robes, amazingly held onto Ara's back and looked over her shoulders. Even the little youngling wanted to see T'Chark. - "So… The Priestesses were right." Taus thought to himself. "All my life, we thought we were serving a good cause. Why would The Queen deceive us like that though?" Then Taus remembered… Torgr. He was told that Galai, in her sleep, would remember Torgr and mention his name. Taus also heard that during the rescue, Torgr did actually get close to Galai. Though could he still be innocent, even if he wasn't here to witness T'Chark's return? Taus nervously approached Nokada. "Nokada?" He asked. The Priestess turned around and saw Taus. "You remember how Galai mentioned Torgr… the neophyte I lost?" Taus started. "Of course." Nokada replied. "Do… do you still think Galai believes him innocent? Do you think T'Chark could forgive him?" Nokada simply smiled. "I believe so… as can everyone here…" - Through Galai, T'Chark watched the crowd of Locust murmur and whisper to each other. T'Chark sensed that the three Priestesses, especially the one called Ithak, had been talking to them about her, and how Queen Myrrah was a "low down traitor" as Ithak called her. T'Chark didn't quite think that, but she knew that Ithak was right. Finally ready to move. Galai raised her arms in the air to silence the crowd. All the Locust stopped and stared straight at her, the only sound being the wind blowing. T'Chark took a moment to get her wording right, this was a delicate situation, some of the locust here had never heard of her. How was she to explain everything? She had to speak, now or never… "Denizens of the Locust Horde… I am T'Chark… Supreme Deity of the Trinity of Worms." T'Chark announced, trying not to build herself up so large just yet. "I thought of the horde to be forever corrupted by Queen Myrrah… she went against my warnings and waged war on the human race. The Dark ones were already pushing towards their goal, a war with the humans only escalated the chances of extinction." T'Chark explained. The locust all looked at each other, amazingly, they all seemed to be in somewhat agreement. Maybe they had been listening to the Priestesses. "I tried to get my loyalists to convince the war commanders to stop, but Myrrah's lies had clouded their vision, thus they launched their war on the day in human history forever known as "Emergence Day", this day would forever solidify the hatred between human and locust." All the locust did not interrupt, they kept listening to what T'Chark said. "Though I suppose I had my moment of weakness…" T'Chark began to confess. "I honestly thought that if peaceful intentions were shown, the two races wouldn't pose a threat to one another. It seems as though I was wrong about the humans." "However!" T'Chark then boomed, before any Locust could say anything. Though they didn't, none of them dared speak out against the goddess. "If the surface was not an option, we would have found another way to defeat the dark ones. Though Myrrah's mind was made up, she would try and exterminate the humans… which would only lead to the dark ones gaining more strength and leading to the demise of the once mighty Locust Horde… she is a soul I cannot forgive." "I knew it!" Ithak jeered. "Treacherous Queen!" Nokada turned back to see Ithak and shot her an impatient look. "Not now Ithak!" She hissed. Nokada, rather embarrassed, turned to Brother Markon and Priest Quaar. She then tapped the side of her head rapidly a few times. Apparently, according to Sauvix, that was a humanism symbol for "Not a lot going on upstairs" T'Chark decided to continue. "I see here many souls that were once blinded by Myrrah and her propaganda, though now they are beginning to see the light. T'Chark resumed. "They realise their errors and wish to…" "It's true!" Called a voice. T'Chark looked down to see a Flame Grenadier muscle past several drones so that he could get a better view. "Lost many brethren to the humans." He added. "The death bringer weakened the Nexus and helped the dark ones grow stronger." A Theron guard hissed. "They consumed so many cities with their new strength." "And the great flood has forever destroyed our homes." Priest Quaar added. "T'Chark, these souls wish for your forgiveness… they have seen past Myrrah's lies and wish for redemption." "All here can be forgiven…" T'Chark replied. Suddenly, Galai grabbed hold of her body and let out a yell of pain, she nearly fell off the rock, only to be caught by Brother Markon. The locust survivors gasped in both surprise and horror. Priest Quaar, despite his age, rushed over to Galai and looked at her in shock. "T'Chark? What's happening?!" He demanded. "Losing… concentration again!" T'Chark stammered. "Galai is weak… she needs… to be healed!" Priest Quaar once again examined Galai's injuries, she needed them cleared up, as well as some sort of check for internal injuries. He didn't care how it could be done, he needed to find a way to nurse Galai back to health. "If we heal her… you could communicate with us longer?" Quaar asked. "Of… course." T'Chark replied. T'Chark examined the crowd of locust one last time, however, a certain someone stuck out. Galai stared at the character for a few seconds, before T'Chark lost concentration with her, and Galai passed out again. Out of all the locust in the crowd, T'Chark's attention was turned to only one… Hakar. - Back at the cave, T'Chark began to think about the fact that she just saw Hakar. "Son of RAAM… Leader of The Soul Killers…" She pondered. There was something about him that caught her attention. "Why did I focus on him?" She asked herself, before quickly answering her own question. "I sense some sort of connection from him…" "I sense Priest Quaar because he had taken my water… but what had Hakar got?" T'Chark thought about it for a few more seconds, before it hit her. "… My Blood?"

BLAH BLAH...

Chapter 19

In the dead of night, while most of the people were trying to get some sleep, one person was still awake. Cautiously looking around, sitting in the ruins of what was once an office, nervously talking on the telephone to a mysterious figure. This person didn't want anyone to know of what he was saying to these people, what he was ordering them to do, no one outside the walls of the office was allowed to know about this persons order. This person being none other than Chairman Richard Prescott Prescott held a telephone to his ear and whispered hastily to someone on the other line… someone from Cyron. "Is that clear?" Prescott hissed. "The missing squads are the last straw! As Chairman of the Cog for god knows how much longer, I hereby authorise any means to help eliminate the last of the Locust… including those Soul Killers." "Yes Sir." the contact replied. "You say you still have one last robot laboratory left?" "We do sir." "Excellent. I want you to begin as soon as possible." Prescott ordered. He then briefly put the telephone down, not to hang up, but to think about what he was going to say next. "Just to be one the safe side." He added. "I'll be sending some soldiers to help you keep your lab secure." "That will not be necessary sir." The contact assured. "We have plenty of troopers ready for our protection." "I'd prefer some COG presence with you." Prescott replied. "Besides, these are my own, personal soldiers, not the riff raff under Victor's control. Loyal to the COG no matter what and most importantly… loyal to me." "Understood sir." The contact nervously replied. "There may be one small hitch, however." "Oh?" Prescott asked. "With Jacinto gone, many of our resources are lost." The contact explained. "We can only reactivate old, Pendulum war era robots, such as those Peacekeepers we sent you. Obviously, we can upgrade their weaponry for more suitable Locust hunting, but their armour is nothing compared to the likes of our Searchers, which we're running low on." "Doesn't bother me, just so long as they can destroy the Locust." Prescott snapped. "Y… Yes sir." - Now in the early morning of the next day, Pierce had entered Arkan University. He wanted to speak with Dr France again, he didn't know why, maybe to keep himself sane? Pierce walked down the cobwebbed infested halls, kicking past bricks and tipped over chairs. Just as he approached the room where Dr France usually resided, he didn't need to knock on the door, as Dr France swung the door open, he had to stop himself as he saw Pierce standing there. From the look of it, Dr France was about to go out looking for Pierce. "Oh Pierce! Thank god I found you!" France gasped. "Listen, Dr Simms finally made it back!" "About time as well!" Pierce announced. "Where has he been?" "No time! You must listen to me!" France snapped. "Dr Simms told me about the study he did with the Imulsion." "You mean how he wanted to test the rumours of possible… Lambent creatures?" "Exactly! It seems as though he's right." France stuttered. "The Imulsion, the stuff our race spent seventy nine long years fighting over… it's not a saviour… it's our death!" Pierce couldn't reply, Dr France was starting to sound like one of those religious fanatics that believed the end was nigh. "Imulsion gives us Rust Lung, but according to Dr Simms, it's turning creatures into monsters! Horrifying abominations!" "So… What Delta saw in the Hollow was true…" Pierce gasped. "Not just to Locust, though I need to skip to the more important matter!" France barked. "If what Dr Simms said is true, then something must be done about… Subject Omega." Dr France then yanked out a Data slat and forced it into Pierce's hand. "This slat should contain the co-ordinates to wherever Laboratory five was. Find it… and destroy Subject Omega." Although he didn't show it, Pierce was relived. "Yes sir, right away!" He confirmed "If the Imulsion is as deadly as Simms made it out to be… then that creature must never see the surface of Sera!" France warned. "Take as many Cyron troopers as you need, conscript a few Gears if you have to!" Pierce nodded and hastily fled, ready for a mission. - It took a moment for Hakar to wake up, he couldn't quite get his eyes open right away and he felt a splitting pain on the left side of his head. Though when he did wake up, he immediately sensed that something was wrong. He was surrounded by nothing but darkness and he couldn't hear a single sound. Another dream. Hakar suddenly saw something materialise in front of him, first it was just a cloud of smoke, though the smoke soon formed into a figure. It was Priestess Galai, but she was completely red and transparent. Much like the last dream Hakar had where he saw a red T'Chark incarnation. "Hakar, listen to me." The Galai figure warned, her voice half echo and half demonic in a sense. Hakar didn't argue, he just stood and listened. "There is a great danger… a dark one like no other…" The Galai explained. "You are the only one with the strength to destroy it… lead your soldiers to it… purge it from this world." All of a sudden, a series of flashing images appeared before Hakar, causing him to stumble and fall back to the floor. His eyes soon adjusted to the images and he watched them with awe. - Hakar snapped out of his state and saw that he was back in his shack, lying on his bed. Having just woken up from his dream. Hakar took a moment to catch his breath. Even though he was awake, he could still feel the images he saw repeating themselves in his head. "Something has to be done…" He announced to himself. "It must be destroyed." - Hakar had obviously been asleep for a while, as when he stepped out of his shack, he saw that everyone was up and about already. Though Hakar didn't have time, he needed to round up The Soul Killers… what he saw in his dream, it had to be destroyed. He spotted Onwa and Sauvix talking to Priest Quaar outside the shack where Galai was resting. As Hakar approached, he overheard their conversation. "Please… I need you to do everything you can." Quaar pleaded to Sauvix. "If Galai can be nursed back to full health, I may be able to talk with the goddess longer." "I'll… I'll see what I can do." Sauvix nervously replied, unsure about the whole thing. "Thank you." Quaar then left and made his way back to his own shack. Before Onwa and Sauvix could move, Hakar stopped them where they were. "Is all well Hakar?" Onwa asked. "No time. Onwa, I need you to get the Reavers ready. Sauvix, you round up the others." Hakar ordered. "Why?" Sauvix asked. "There's an impending danger nearby… we must destroy it." Before either Onwa and Sauvix could say anything, Hakar stopped them in their tracks. "Just trust me!" He barked, before leaving the two behind. "An impending danger… just trust him? How foolish does he think we are?" Sauvix hissed. Sauvix then looked over to Onwa, who shook his head and went to go look for the other Soul Killers. Sauvix sighed, disappointed and went to go look for his flamethrower. Meanwhile, Hakar went to a shack where weaponry was stored. He grabbed a Lancer assault rifle, a Boomshot and plenty of ammo and bolo grenades. He was hoping the others would have their own weapons with them. Hakar then stepped back outside and saw the two Reavers, prepped and ready to fly. Along with Onwa, Sauvix, Taus, Zaach and Braahk, all armed and ready. "What's the plan Hakar?" Zaach asked. "Don't bother asking." Sauvix sighed. Hakar hurried everyone onto the Reavers, with Zaach and Braahk on the larger Reaver and the rest mounting onto the first, but before Onwa climbed aboard, he stopped himself and faced Hakar. "Pains me to say it, but I have to agree with Sauvix, you do know what you're doing, right?" He whispered. "Of course, I'll explain when we get there." Hakar replied. "Where?" Hakar gave no reply, not even to his trusted friend. Onwa gulped and climbed onto the pilot seat of the Reaver. Though just before Hakar got on, he stopped himself as he felt someone else was around. He turned around to see that Nokada had wandered onto the scene. "What's going on?" She asked. Hakar didn't quite know what to say or do right away, he quickly ran through an answer in his mind and then walked over to Nokada. "A Message from the Goddess… something has to be destroyed." That was the only thing he said, before turning away back the Reavers and hoping on with Onwa, Sauvix and Taus. Both Reavers let out a screech and lifted up into the air, flying away from the camp. Nokada was a little bit startled, Hakar had contact with the goddess? How? All that had to be pushed to one side, as she felt that whatever The Soul Killers were doing, it wouldn't go well. "Ithak! Ara!" She called out. No sign of them, Nokada rushed back deeper into the camp to look for her two comrades. Luckily, she found them both rather quickly. Ithak was sitting on a rock, examining her toes. While Ara was just exiting her own shack, having just put Chex back to sleep. "You two, tell Ferex to prepare for combat." Nokada ordered. "Why?" Ara asked. "The Soul Killers seem to have gone searching for something, their leader swears the goddess is guiding them." Nokada explained. "Though I feel that even they, may need some help." Nokada left to go and get her own weaponry. Ithak lifted herself off the rock and confidently smiled. "Helping the Elite… that could be worth something!" She grinned. "What do you mean?" Ara inquired. "If they do need our help and we give it to them, who knows? We might get something in return." Ithak explained smugly. "A Reward? That's all you want?" Ara replied. She then shook her head and went to go look for her own weapons. - The two Reavers landed in the wide streets of a part of Landown. Once all the Soul Killers has climbed off, the two Reavers retreated to find a safe hiding spot, ready to return when they were called back. Each Soul Killer had their weapon ready in case of a fight, humans were still snooping around these parts, as well as them, they had a few close calls with the Lambent. Hakar was looking around the streets, ignoring the ruins and seemed fixated on finding out which way to go. The other Soul Killers could only stare in disbelief. "This way!" He announced, pointing straight forward. Hakar lead the group a few feet down the road and then made a sharp left turn. Not so many buildings down this way, more demolished, charred remains of cars, debris scattered around alongside the wreckage. The sun beaming down on them wasn't helping either. "Should be past there." Hakar said, pointing to what looked another left turn, as the path now in front of them was covered with trashed cars. "Why, what that way?" Braahk asked. "Are you going to answer him?" Sauvix demanded in his usual sarcastic tone. Hakar slapped his forehead and decided to cough up. "A Dream I had… The Goddess spoke to me, telling me of a danger around here. She's guiding me to it so that we may destroy it!" Hakar grudgingly explained. The other Soul Killers didn't quite seem as convinced. "That's it?" Sauvix barked. "I know what I'm doing!" Hakar snapped back. "You saw her use Galai to speak to us! I'm telling you, the visitation I saw was real, she will help us destroy this danger!" "Wh.. What did she call this danger?" Zaach nervously asked. "An Abomination, a Dark one like no other." Hakar replied. That's when it twigged to Hakar, the exact words Priest Quaar warned him about in his prediction. _"Also… I see a Dark One… a creature like no other. Some kind of abomination, it is sworn to destroy all of us!"_ "Over here!" Called a voice. The group hadn't noticed that Taus had run on ahead and was now taking cover around the corner that Hakar suggested they take. He tilted his head to get the others to come over. Hakar rushed over and peeked around the corner. Another stretch of road with trashed cars and old roadblocks scattered around, the road seemed to take another left further ahead, though Hakar couldn't see where it lead to, as another building blocked off their view. However, the one thing Hakar did spot was three Cyron Troopers. A standard and two "Shotgunner" class soldiers. Told apart by their worn out, rusty gold coloured armour and dark orange eyes. The Shotgunners turned to begin walking down the road, while the normal soldier was talking on his radio. "Let's take them out… nice and quietly." Hakar whispered. Hakar ordered Onwa and Zaach go with him, as they crept towards the soldier. They heard him speak on his radio. "Experiencing interference, the data slat is glitching on and off." The Trooper explained, his voice low and covered with the vocoder. Hakar then grabbed the soldier in a headlock, using one arm to cover the mouth part of the helmet. The soldier struggled in Hakar's grip, but the Soul Killer was much stronger than him. Hakar began to drag the soldier away from the oblivious Shotgunners and ordered Onwa and Zaach to strike. Rushing forward, armed with blades, Onwa and Zaach grabbed the two Shotgunners and slashed their throats. Both Soldiers choked as blood gushed out of their wounds. They both fell to the floor while grabbing hold of their open, blood splattering throats. With them dealt with, Hakar delivered the finishing blow to his captive. Hakar released one arm and forced it through the soldier's back, smashing out of his chest and clenching hold of his heart, which Hakar ripped out. Hakar used his free hand to cover the muffled screams of the dying soldier. When silent, Hakar let go of the heart and dropped the body to the ground, Hakar's arm covered in blood. "All clear." He mockingly announced. The other Soul Killers approached Hakar, Onwa and Zaach, ready to join them further. However, just as they prepared to move on, a Cyron Soldier emerged from around the left corner up ahead. He stumbled as he saw the sight of the Locust. "Enemy Forces!" He announced over his radio. "Engage!" The Cyron trooper ducked behind a car just as Zaach fired a burst of Hammerburst fire on him. More Cyron troopers joined the fray, a mix of standards and Shotgunners. The Soul Killers ducked behind cars and roadblocks as well, except for Braahk. The Grinder saw a van and thought it would be tall enough for him to take cover behind. Braahk tipped the van over to it's side and ducked behind it, sure enough, it kept him covered. Both sides exchanged fire, at first, neither side could get a hit. Onwa tried to aim with his Torque Bow, but a Cyron trooper amazingly shot it out of his hand. Startled, Onwa ducked back into cover and got out a Boltok instead. Blind firing it over cover with Sauvix, who was doing the same. Hakar and Zaach got lucky, as both managed to gun down two Cyron Soldiers that attempted to push forward. Hakar's shots simply sent the soldier's body flying back. While Zaach's shot caused the body to spasm as the bullets hit it's armour. Only falling when Zaach ducked back into cover. A Shotgunner was pumping buckshot towards the Soul Killers, managing to keep them down for a bit. Until suddenly… "BANG!" The Cyron Shotgunner's head exploded into red mist as the corpse slumped over the roadblock he was once taking cover behind. Zaach nodded approvingly as Taus managed to reload successfully and take aim. "BANG!" Taus hit yet another careless soldier, blowing the left side of his head clean off. Brain and skull fragments shattered into the other soldiers as the dead victim fell onto his back. Another Shotgunner was sneaking around to the right of the commotion, trying to get the jump on The Soul Killers, as they were concentrating on the soldiers opposite them, not really paying attention to the sides. The Shotgunner prepped his Gnasher and almost made it to their side. Almost. As Sauvix, armed with a Shotgun of his own, fired at the soldier, blowing his leg clean off. Blood not only gushed from the wound, but splattered up in the air as the leg went flying. The other Soul Killers barely noticing, not even Onwa, who was right next to him. Sauvix watched as the Cyron soldier tried to crawl away, groaning in pain and spewing blood as retreated. Sauvix felt surprisingly merciful, he pulled out his Boltok and shot the Shotgunner in the head, killing him. Finally, Braahk emerged from his cover and sprayed the Cyron soldiers with hot mulcher bullets. He laughed as the soldiers were gunned down and split into bloody chunks. Soul Killers had won again, no more Cyron troopers. "Ha! All dead! No surprise there!" Braahk laughed. "Wait! Listen!" Onwa warned. The sound of heavy, metal footsteps caught their attention. This time, from around the corner, emerged another Peacekeeper robot. "Oh not again!" Zaach gasped. The Peacekeeper spotted them and opened fire with it's chaingun cannon, forcing everyone, even Braahk, back into cover. The Robot began to stomp towards them, kicking past the debris and roadblocks. Though Hakar wasn't having any of this. First, he tossed a bolo grenade near the Robot's legs. The grenade merely startled it, but that was just to give Hakar time. Hakar ordered the other's to stay down, except for Braahk, who would attack on his signal. Now armed with his Boomshot, Hakar launched a Boomshot rocket straight into the centre of the Peacekeeper, sending it stumbling back. Reloading quickly, Hakar fired another rocket. Portions of armour broke off and the Peacekeeper fired shots into the air. Hakar flung another grenade, though this time, the grenade knocked some more armour off. "NOW!" Hakar ordered. Braahk emerged from his cover and blasted a jet of bullets at the Peacekeeper. Though the robot was now weakened, the bullets tore away at it's exposed innards. Sparks and smoke spewed out as Braahk kept firing. "You not so tough, metal monster!" Braahk jeered. Finally, The Peacekeeper's chest exploded, smoke still belching out of it's weakened armour. The Robot fell onto it's front, destroyed. All The Soul Killers got out of cover, startled, but otherwise okay. "Very nicely done." Onwa complimented. "Let's just keep going!" Hakar lead the group around the corner where the Cyron forces were coming from. They saw it lead to another building of some kind, though the entrance was boarded up. At the foot of the entrance, they spotted several dead drones and grenadiers slumped around. "Another hunting party?" Zaach asked. "I don't think so…" Onwa replied. Though before he could elaborate further, they suddenly saw one of the drones actually get up, he was beaten and shaken, but otherwise alive. "Oh… Oh thank the Queen you are here!" He cheered. He couldn't continue, as the boarded up entrance was smashed open. From the entrance came another robot. Though this one was different. It somewhat resembled the Peacekeeper, but was taller and had a tint of dark green in it's armour. It had a bright yellow eye visor and looked very sinister. It was armed with a large shield and some sort of hand held weapon. The Robot seemed to "scoff" at the sight of the locust drone and used it's shield to smash the drone away, sending him flying. Spotting the Soul Killers, the robot crouched behind it's shield and aimed it's weapon. It fired a grenade. "Down!" Hakar ordered as the Soul Killers retreated, dodging the grenade. The Robot slowly began to advance forward, still covering itself with it's shield. "What's that?!" Zaach yelled. "Defender class Robot… another Pendulum wars one, like those Peacekeepers." Sauvix explained, still managing to remain professional, even though he had to dodge another grenade coming his way. "Braahk, draw it's attention!" Hakar ordered. Braahk prepped up his Mulcher and faced the advancing Defender. "You! Yes you!" Braahk screamed. "Fight me coward!" The Defender turned to face Braahk, who opened fire. The bullets merely ricocheted off the shield as Braahk back peddled. Unknown to the Defender that Hakar and Onwa were ready to strike it's back. Loading in fresh ammo for the Boomshot, Hakar waited as Onwa charged up a arrow for his Torque Bow. Now ready, Hakar fired a rocket at the Defender's back, just as Onwa fired his arrow, both explosives hit the Defender pretty hard. Blowing off it's much weaker back armour. A critical design flaw. The Defender held it's weakened back to a wall and stayed crouched behind it's shield. It fired off a series of grenades in random directions. Forcing all the Soul Killers to dodge and duck out of the way. Save for Braahk, who merely retreated behind the van. The Defender spotted the other Soul Killers heading towards the place it had just emerged from. It then began to charge towards the group, forgetting about Braahk. The Grinder emerged from behind the van and sprayed another dosage of mulcher bullets into it's back. It didn't take long for the Defender's back to explode, spluttering smokes and sparks. Braahk smiled as he watched the Defender stumble around for a few seconds, before collapsing onto it's back. Dropping it's shield and grenade launcher. "Ha! No match for me!" Braahk jeered. He then stomped over to rejoin Hakar and the others. "There… getting bigger." Zaach gasped, still shaken from the encounter. "Something tells me we are going to meet plenty more." Sauvix warned. "Let's keep going." Hakar announced, leading them towards the entrance where the Defender had emerged from. "Keep going where?" Sauvix hissed to himself. - The entrance seemed to go down, the group had to walk down a long flight of stairs which took them into a dimly lit, leaking, vandalised area. They stood on a platform and to their right, three sets of railroad tracks, followed by another platform. "Where are we?" Taus asked. "Human subway station." Sauvix explained. "Mechanical trains that travel underneath the city." "I saw something like this a while back." Onwa added. Remembering when he lead a team to disable a Cog security grid. He had to go through a place like this, maybe not vandalised. This place looked as though it hadn't been touched in ages. Hakar lead the group up another, shorter set of stairs. He ordered that Taus and Braahk stay down, just in case enemy reinforcements arrived. When Hakar's team got to the top. Hakar pushed open a set of rusty doors that lead to what looked like the track control station. "Now… it should be… under here." Hakar announced, reiterating the dreams images to his team-mates. Hakar ripped off a portion of the wall to reveal a strange control panel behind it. "How did you…?" Zaach was going to ask, but Hakar didn't answer. He went straight to Sauvix. "Sauvix, can you get this working?" Hakar asked. "And tell us what it is?" Zaach chirped in. "How did you know it was back there?" Sauvix demanded. "The dream I had… it specifically mentioned this part…" Sauvix simply shook his head. "Your letting yourself be guided by a dream?" He barked. "I doubt the goddess would lie to me." Hakar protested. "You just have to trust me." "Do you really expect me to have faith in you because of a dream?" Sauvix sneered. "Do you ever have faith in me at all?" Hakar put forward. Sauvix stopped, he looked at Onwa and Zaach, who stared at him with odd looks. Hakar had a point, he'd always followed Hakar no matter what, so why stop now? "… No" Sauvix awkwardly replied. Hakar gave Sauvix a smug grin before tilting his head towards the control panel. Sauvix sighed and approached the panel, he worked with it. "Well?" Zaach asked. "Strange, it appears to be some sort of device that… calls something? Sauvix pondered. Suddenly, Sauvix pushed a button that glowed bright green. Startled, Sauvix stepped back and computer text reading "ARRIVING NOW" appeared on a smaller screen under the button, followed by a series of beeping noises. Down Below, Taus and Braahk were jumped by the sound of something approaching. They both turned to the railroad tracks to see a strange looking train car emerge from a tunnel, it was rolling on the third track. The others went down to join them, also a little shocked at what they saw. The car door opened up. "Another one of Cyron's tricks I guess." Sauvix deduced. "We must get in, it should take us to where we want to go." Hakar announced. The Soul Killers approached the train car and climbed aboard, Braahk had to break off the door and squeeze in, but he just about made it in. Sauvix pressed a button on the car's control panel, and it began to reverse back into the tunnel...

...BLAH BLAH...

Chapter 20

\- The train cart continued to squeak and tremble as it hauled itself along the tracks and lead The Soul Killers down the dark, crumbled, eroded subway tunnels that had been long abandoned. It was surprisingly dark in these tunnels, even for The Soul Killers. Normally, Locust could see quite well in the dark, but there was something about these tunnels that made vision harder for them. Out of all of them, Braahk was the one finding the journey rather unpleasant. The train cart obviously hadn't been built for something his size. He found he had to duck his head and almost try and squat to fit in, which was most uncomfortable. While Sauvix looked on in disapproval, he felt Braahk was the one causing the train cart to grind at such a slow pace. True, it was pretty old, but even then, it could probably go faster without him. Finally, the train cart came to a sudden halt, almost sending the group flying forward. The doors opened and Hakar was the first to pick himself up and step outside. The others followed, as they were still just following him. The "station" they had arrived at was still surrounded by darkness, all except what looked like a passageway that had been boarded up. Old, rotting planks of wood covered the entire passage. Though all Hakar had to do was get out his blade and slash through the boards, which were so deteriorated that they almost disintegrated when Hakar cut through them. After cutting through the wood, Hakar stopped for a minute, he was getting more "guidance" "Straight on" Hakar said, though it sounded like he meant to say it to himself, rather than out aloud. Hakar lead the group down the blank, soulless path of smashed bricks, cracked floors, dripping ceilings and debris covered in ancient dust. Though Hakar barely seemed to notice, the others however, were a little more concerned. "What do you think is down here?" Zaach whispered. "Something that will destroy us no doubt." Sauvix whispered back. "Our leader is always eager to take us to them." Onwa gave Sauvix a nudge to tell him to shut up, but even he felt a little uncomfortable about this. Hakar's mission just came out of the blue, normally he'd tell Onwa about any mission he had planned. Onwa snapped out of his thoughts when the group had come to a halt, as Hakar had lead the group to what looked like a doorway. Two large, metallic looking doors with a smashed apart keypad next to it, the doors themselves looked as though they had survived a bomb blast. Hakar looked at the doors for a few seconds, then the keypad, before turning to Braahk. "Tear this door down Braahk!" Hakar ordered. The Grinder rubbed his hands with glee and smiled, he put his Mulcher down for a second and walked over to the doors. Braahk laughed as he rubbed his hands, ready to take it down. Braahk drove his hands in-between the two doors, and with a mighty tug, he yanked the doors wide open. "Ha! Little baby gate not stop us!" Braahk jeered. The Grinder was about to step in, when Hakar suddenly stopped him. He wanted to lead the group into this place. Braahk stopped when Hakar raised his hand, letting his leader go in first. Once he had done, the rest followed. The Soul Killers found themselves in a large, reception like area, Cyron's logo hung high and mighty above the reception desk. The lights flickered on and off every few seconds, there was smashed glass all over the cracked floor tiles. Two doors stood next to the reception desk, the one on the right was bent forward, almost sliding out of it's hinges, while the one on the left seemed normal. Though what didn't escape the group's attention was the presence of blood. Old, dried up blood smearing the walls and floors. Something had obviously happened here. "So… you've lead us to a secret base." Sauvix deduced. "How did you know?" "As I say, I'm being guided here." Hakar replied bluntly. Sauvix shrugged off that comment, despite his desire to grill Hakar for answers, he knew he wasn't going to get any. "Why build a base down here?" Zaach asked. "Why not in their old safe Haven Jacinto? Where we couldn't get to?" "Maybe they'd work better without human superiors constantly entering the base." Taus suggested. "Perhaps… or maybe they were doing things in secret, things the COG weren't so keen on." Sauvix added. "They could've built a base anywhere, but that isn't what is concerning me." Onwa chirped in. "It looks as though a battle has occurred here…" Sauvix, Taus and Zaach all looked back at the blood smeared around. Funny how they had all forgotten that for a moment. Something found one of Cyron's so called "Secret" bases and had ransacked the place. Hakar still wasn't paying attention, he was more interested in receiving instructions from T'Chark on where to go next. After a few seconds, he turned to the door on the reception desk's left and approached it. This door actually opened without trouble. The group were lead down a seemingly never-ending hallway with the same cracked tiles, cobwebbed ceiling corners, faulty lights, dust and of course, blood. This hallway seemed to have rooms on it's left and right with large windows proudly displaying what work once went on there. Mostly just prototypes of supercomputers and the occasional Cybernetics planning room. Though it wasn't until they got to a fork in their path did they notice one particular room. Sauvix looked through the window and saw what looked like the remains of a Peacekeeper Robot, lying flat on a bed, it's schematics posted up on the wall next to it. It's head, however, was on a table next to the bed. "Hmm… working for improvements?" Sauvix thought. The Soul Killers continued down to the right and walked through the greyed, deteriorating and almost depressing hallways of the Cyron laboratory. Until, however, they came across a large, safe like door. The door had a warning light flashing above it, which said "LOCKDOWN". There was the usual keypad next to the door. "Sauvix, can you unlock that?" Hakar asked. Sauvix turned to him with a mixed look, he seemed to be both confused and a little concerned. "Of course…" He replied a little reluctantly. "We must go this way, that is what the guidance is ordering." Hakar added. "Alright, but I warn you, this door was locked for a reason." Sauvix pointed out. "A Lockdown implies that something dangerous is beyond those doors, something we may not know about…" As Sauvix got to work on the door, Onwa turned his attention to Zaach. Who was darting his eyes all around, he seemed nervous, more nervous then any of the others. "Are you alright?" Onwa asked. This made Zaach jump a little, he shook his head when he realised it was just Onwa. "It is just this place…" Zaach gulped. "… It is bringing back some rather bad memories…" Onwa's good eye widened. Ah yes, he knew what Zaach meant. The Project Saviour… The humans attempt at super soldiers… the base where Taus was wounded and Hakar was almost killed by one of those demons… Sauvix had to stand back as the keypad sent out a few sparks. He turned to see the door cough and wheeze as it struggled to open itself, having been sealed shut for so long. After a few seconds, the door let out a deep grind and opened up. The group found themselves greeted to a hallway of blood smeared walls and floors… along with two human skeletons. One lying on the floor, the other slumped against the wall on the right. "It does feel good to be right." Sauvix sneered. Apart from Hakar, the others felt a little too shocked to make a comment back. "What happen? Who been doing all the killings?" Braahk asked aloud. Onwa stepped towards Hakar. "Are you sure about this? We have no idea what is further down this way?" "A Goddess wouldn't lie to us." Hakar protested to Onwa. "Let's keep going." Hakar went onward, Onwa could only shrug to Taus, Zaach and Braahk, while Sauvix smirked at the whole situation. They had to agree with him, it was starting to look a little suicidal. Hakar suddenly stopped at the turning point to the right of the passage. He though he had heard something, he waved his hand to Onwa and Sauvix, who both approached him to see what was concerning him. They peered around the corner to see some kind of robot at work. It was a red, skeleton looking machine with two blue eyes and what appeared to be a welding torch for a right hand. The robot looked as though it was fixing up a wall. Though the robot then turned and spotted the three intruders looking at it. He stared daggers at them and it's eyes suddenly turned blood red. The torch hand retraced and now became what looked like a cutting tool that could potentially serve as a weapon. The robot hissed and then fled further down the hall. "What was that?" Onwa gasped. "My guess would be some kind of repair bot, with defence capabilities of course." Sauvix announced. "It's armed?" Onwa pointed out. "Of course, most human robots were given some kind of weapon after E-Day." "Though… it was still working?" Onwa added. "Well, judging from the look of this place, it seems as though the last occupants left here in a hurry. Perhaps the robot control was never deactivated, thus the repair bots were left behind to continue try rebuilding all the damage." Sauvix explained. "After all these years though…" Sauvix just nodded. He looked and saw Hakar arm himself with his Lancer. He was prepared for a fight. "Don't worry Sauvix, I'll proceed with caution." He said. "That's a first." Sauvix sneered. Hakar shrugged off that comment and followed the path that the robot had run down, still cautiously gripping his lancer in case they tried to attack. The Soul Killer leader darted his eyes around, checking for any kinds of traps still left on, humans were devious like that. No traps were set off, thankfully, as Hakar had now lead the team to a very interesting room. It was a very large area with dark blue, metal walls. The room still had the usual cracks, tears and blood stains of all the others. There were three of four doors, one right ahead and three others to the right, though once again, only the door ahead looked as though it could be opened. The main thing that interested the group was that to their left were two large cages, that looked as though they were supposed to be protected with thick metal barred doors, but one was half way open, the other had been ripped off. Inside the cages were plenty of human skeletons, all flesh having been ripped off, laying in pools of dried up blood. Although strangely enough, their appeared to be Wretch skeletons inside the cages as well. "Now this I remember." Zaach said, the others all turned to him. "When we freed those wretches in the demon factory?" "Colourful choice of description there." Sauvix gently mocked. "Though yes, it is very similar. Could've been studying them?" "Puny humans capture us?" Braahk gasped, shocked. "Bah! Cannot happen!" "You'd be surprised what they can do." Sauvix replied. While the others kept looking at the cages, Zaach found himself a little interested in the one door that looked as though it could be opened. He cautiously approached the door, his Hammerburst ready. It opened up as he approached it. Greeted with a narrow hallway with three more doors, one ahead, one right and one to his left. Zaach was about to move on when he suddenly heard a knocking noise and a slow, slurred groan coming from the door on his left. Zaach carefully tapped the door, which then shot right open. Out of nowhere, Zaach was tackled to the floor by an aggressor, the shock of something attacking so suddenly had stunned him for a minute, so he couldn't quite see what it was. When he shook his head, he found he struggled to breath, as the attacker was choking him! Zaach now saw what it was…. It was a Locust Drone! Though it looked heavily beaten up and wounded, with one eye bulging out of it's socket. The drone groaned and roared as it tried to kill Zaach. Though the Soul Killer managed to grab his Boltok and aim it at the drone's head. He fired, brains covered the wall behind it as the dead drone collapsed before him. Zaach finally breathing as the dead drone's hands let go of his neck. Zaach looked over to see the others had just arrived as he had killed the crazed drone. "Sorry brother." Zaach sighed to the drone. He then turned to the others, out of all of them, Hakar looked the most relived. "What happened?!" Taus gasped. "He… came out of nowhere… just attacked me…" Zaach stuttered, still a little shaken up. Onwa and Sauvix approached the dead drone and moved him onto his back. They got a good look at him and found themselves disgusted. Not only was his face covered in bruises, cuts and surgical scars, a part of his chest was open, exposing some organs, blood was smeared all over his the rest of his chest, his belly and both his arms. This creature was an utter mess. "By the gods… what happened to him?" Onwa gulped. "Tortured?" "No… experimented on." Sauvix replied grimly. Sauvix then turned the drone onto his back, the sight of him got worse as Onwa saw various wires coming out of his spinal cord and the back of his brain was also exposed. What's more, it seemed as though the humans had given this drone a lobotomy of some kind. "Sick curiosity." Hakar pointed out. "I guess I'm guilty of the same crime." Sauvix confessed. "True, I used to take humans apart to study them, but at least I made sure they were dead first." "Nasty humans!" Braahk growled. Sauvix called upon Taus and the two decided to quickly examine the room where this crazed experiment victim had come from. It was a small room dimly lit with a red light. There appeared to be various stasis tubes in the room, though all of them looked as though something had broken out of them. Taus then spotted the operating table where the victim had come from. "How long do you think he was down here?" Taus asked. "What's more, how did he survive?" "I'd… rather not know." Sauvix uttered. The two looked at each other and chose to step out of the room, rejoining the others. Hakar seemed ready to press on further down this hall. It was the way he wanted to go anyway, how fortunate. (for some) Zaach stuck by Hakar's side, both Locust had their weapons ready for another fight. The two stepped into a very large area, clad with the same metallic walls, only with a light blue colour scheme. It looked relatively undamaged compared to the others. There was a window to an observation room high above to the left. Aside from four metal pillars at each corner, there wasn't much else in here. "Let's keep going." Hakar ordered, that's all he seemed to say at the moment. "I just pray to Tcherk that nothing else jumps out." Zaach sighed. As if jinxed, the door suddenly slammed shut behind Hakar and Zaach, locking them in and the others out. Zaach aimed his Hammerburst wildly, shocked and confused. Hakar stood perfectly still and turned back to the room. He heard a sly, metallic laugh coming from within the room… "What now?" Zaach groaned. Hakar hushed him and pointed up to the ceiling, Zaach looked up as well. Six of those repair robots were scaling along, their eyes glowing bright red. They all dropped down to face the Locust, three went to Hakar's left, the other three went to Zaach's right. All of them armed with buzz saw like cutting tools, ready to be used as weapons. Hakar and Zaach looked at each other, nodded, and prepared to fight. Hakar rolled further to his left and dodged a quick slice from one attacking bot. He lifted himself up and kicked the first attacker away, a second repair bot tried to lunge at Hakar, but the Soul Killer retaliated with a burst of Lancer fire. Surprisingly, the bullets mashed up the repair bot badly, it's frail body no match for such punishment. Thus it was easily destroyed. The first robot had tried to get up, but Hakar gave it the same Lancer fire, breaking it. The third attacker had hung back, it actually launched it's buzz saw at Hakar. Who narrowly ducked his head just in time. "Very good! Now here's my blade!" Hakar lunged forward with the chainsaw revving. The repair bot was trying to load up a fresh buzz saw, but was caught off guard. Hakar swung the saw into the robot's head, sparks and smoke clouds flew as the screeching noise pierced the air, the blade slicing through the robot's head. Hakar released the blade once the robot's head had been cut clean in half. Meanwhile, Zaach had also rolled right and dodged behind a pillar as two robots launched their saws at him, but missed. The third not attacking right away. As Zaach rested against the pillar, he caught a fourth attacker trying to get the drop on him. It dropped from the ceiling, buzz saw spinning. Zaach wasn't fooled, he simply dodged out of the way, letting the robot's saw get stuck in the ground. Zaach laughed and blasted the little begger to pieces with his Hammerburst. A saw, however, whizzed past Zaach and clipped his Hammerbrust, causing him to drop it in shock. Thankfully, Zaach still had a Gnasher Shotgun ready. Zaach emerged from the pillar and caught the first repair bot attempted to lunge at him. One Gnashed blast was all it took the break the robot clean in half. Another attempted to fire a saw, but Zaach rolled forward, the saw just missing the tip of his head. Zaach popped out his roll and shot the bot clean in the head, breaking it into pieces. The Final Robot aggressively swung it's blade around in a frantic manner, Zaach had to dodge once or twice, before he managed to get a clean shot. With his attackers destroyed, Zaach breathed confidently. He turned around to see Hakar finish off one last repair bot that had tried a sneak attack. Hakar simply stomped on it's head, after he had shot it's legs off. Zaach approached Hakar, who was still examining the remains of that short skirmish. "Close." Zaach gasped jokingly. The two then heard a loud thudding noise coming from the door that had just sealed. After two more seconds, the door broke clean off it's hinges and out came Braahk. "Who put all these baby gates in the way?!" He demanded. Next, out came Onwa, Sauvix and Taus. Sauvix looked a little disappointed. "Well, at least he got through." Onwa said. "I still could've hacked it open." Sauvix replied. "At any rate, there was no need to worry. I see our leader disposed of the enemy?" "Run in with these repair bots." Hakar explained. "Not very combat worthy." "Never intended for fighting." Sauvix pointed out. "Last minute addition." With the dilemma cleared up, Hakar decided to just move on. If these little repair bots tried to attack again, they could be easily disposed of. As the lead the way, Zaach kicked a destroyed bot's head, just in case it tried to get back up. They came to another blast door, much like the one from earlier in the lab. "Allow me." Sauvix hissed to Braahk, who obviously wanted to smash this door down as well. Sauvix approached the keypad and tapped into it, within a few seconds, the door let out a low, humming noise as it slowly rose up, dust coughing up from underneath it. The gears grinding as they tried their best to open up. The door was opened in a few seconds, but it seemed like hours. "Zaach, Taus, Braahk, stay here and make sure no more of those things try and attack." Hakar ordered. "We'll go inside." The three nodded and armed their weapons, Zaach with his Gnasher, Taus with a Boltok and Braahk with his mulcher. Meanwhile, Hakar, Onwa and Sauvix went down a slope into a dark, dull room. Computers that surpassingly still functioned let out the odd beep and bloop. Though Hakar could barely see a thing. The three coughed slightly as the room was very dusty and had an odd odour. A sort of fuel like smell. Onwa saw what he believed to be a light switch, he pressed it. At first, nothing seemed to happen, but the three were startled by a sudden flash and a loud, but short alarm noise. "It's here?" Hakar asked himself, having heard more guidance. "You are sure?" The lights switched on, to reveal what was here…

...Blah Blah...

Chapter21

\- "So… this is what the vision has guided me to…" Hakar gasped. After fighting through the depths of this abandoned Cyron research centre, The Soul Killers had finally made it to their destination, or Hakar's destination, to be more precise. Hakar, Onwa and Sauvix all stared in disbelief as the lights became brighter, revealing what Hakar's vision had guided them to. A Dark One, trapped inside some sort of large stasis tube. However, this was no ordinary Lambent, it was from a breed of mutation thought long dead, a creature that struck fear into the heart's of the toughest Locust, even to this day. "A… A Regenerator!" Onwa stuttered in horror. "Impossible!" The Regenerator seemed to sleep peacefully inside it's stasis tube, the Imulsion in it's system constantly pulsating and glowing. At first, it seemed hard to imagine that this creature was a feared monster, but The Soul Killers weren't fooled by it's peaceful looking deception. Like all Dark One's, The Regenerator resembled a hideously deformed Locust. Glowing green eyes that bulged out of their sockets, their skin charred and looked as though it was melting. It had a long, rockworm like tongue dangling out of it's wide, torn apart mouth. Long, blade like claws protruded from it's fingers while it's feet resembled large talon claws. Most of all, it was fairly tall, taller than Braahk, the creature looked rather cramped in it's stasis tube. Almost like it had to be squeezed in. "It can't be…" Onwa gulped, still not convinced. "These creatures died out a few years after Emergence Day." "There's always one that slips through the net." Sauvix replied. "One member of a species that always manages to avoid extinction." It was true, Regenerators were thought to have died out during the Locust's war with the humans. At first, there seemed to be a plentiful supply of them to fight the horde. Feared due to their seemingly unstoppable nature, if they were wounded or needed more strength, they would simply take a drink from the Imulsion rivers. Healing all wounds and making them bigger and stronger, hence where they got the name "Regenerator" from. However, as the Human-Locust war went on, Regenerators began to die out, there'd be less of them fighting the horde in the hollows, and they came across as much weaker than before. Eventually, the Locust breathed a collective sigh of relief, as the last Regenerator was thought to have been slain by General RAAM. After that, they were never seen again. It remained a mystery as to why they died out. However, there was a rumour that said they never really died out, but mutated into a new creature altogether. That was, after all, a common effect on the dark ones. What did they turn into? Nobody wanted to know. But here it was, A Regenerator in the flesh, a potential danger to the tribe, if it escaped, it could destroy what was thought to be the last of the Locust. T'Chark guided the only Locust that could destroy such a dangerous creature to it's lair. Sauvix stopped looking at the Dark One and began to muse around a computer stationed a little further away from the stasis pod. Surprisingly, it still switched on. Sauvix examined it a little further until he found what appeared to be two audio log entries. Hakar and Onwa saw Sauvix messing around and went to see what he had dug up. "What's that?" Hakar asked. "Audio Log's… should be able to tell us more about how this thing got here." Sauvix replied. Sauvix then played the first Log, it was very scrambled at first, but it soon began to pick up. _"… Dubbed 'Subject Omega' by many due to the fact that only one has been seen so far. This creature was found climbing out of an old Emergence hole. It seemed confused and dumbfounded by it's surroundings. It was easily subdued and taken here. So that we may study…" _ The log once again became scrambled, the three Locust couldn't hear what was being said, only the sound of static. "How could they have subdued this beast?" Onwa asked. "Weakened perhaps?" Sauvix pointed out. "They did always need to feed off Imulsion, perhaps it hadn't had it's… dosage, so to be speak." Hakar ordered the others to hush, as it sounded like the audio was coming back. _"… Tests have bought back fascinating results. Imulsion seems to flow through this creature's systems. It's almost as though the Imulsion is it's blood. We are contemplating a test to see what happens if more Imulsion is introduced into it's system…"_ The audio went into static again, then went dead. The three Locust looked at each other in shock. "If only they knew." Onwa sighed. Onwa then saw that Hakar was looking at something else, he looked very concerned. "I fear they did find out." He announced, pointing to a corner of the room. Onwa and Sauvix looked over and saw what appeared to be two barrels marked "IMULSION" laying in the corner. Both looked as though they had been drained completely. "Ah… that could be a problem…" Sauvix suggested. "What does the other audio log say?" Hakar asked. Sauvix closed down the first log and dug up the second one. He played it. At first, there was only the sound of a faint alarm in the background, then suddenly, heavy, petrified breathing cut in, before a speaker announced itself. _"What… what were they thinking?"_ The speaker gasped, causing the Soul Killers to once again, look at each other. _"There must have been Locust travelling nearby, the seismic activity, shook up the whole place. The security systems went down and… and… all the specimens were released. Though those… captured Locust… were nothing compared to… Subject Omega."_ _"It's Stasis pod opened up and it got out, it began drinking… the Imulsion that was to be used for the test. I… I couldn't believe it. It just bigger… and bigger. It tore through the security guards, slaughtered most of the science team and destroyed most of the lab. Heck, it began attacking the other specimens!"_ "That explains that…" Onwa said. _"Somehow, the… Repair bots, they managed to paralyse it, take it back to it's pod and sealed it up. Though it's all too late. I'm the last alive and the lab's in a lockdown… nothing gets in or out!"_ _"Though perhaps I can find a way to escape… there's an emergency exit not far. There's still a few wretch creatures around, but if I can make it past them… I could still escape…"_ The log switched off there. The three Locust had doubts that the human ever escaped. Those skeletons said otherwise. "And T'Chark believes we can destroy it?" Sauvix asked sceptically. "Did she summon anyone else for this mission?" Hakar snapped. At that moment, the three found themselves distracted by the sound of gunfire. It was coming from the previous area, where Hakar and Zaach had their fight with the Repair Bots. Sure enough, next door. Zaach, Taus and Braahk were taking cover behind pillars and dodging buzz saws as another wave of Repair bots were attacking. Zaach covered behind Braahk as the mighty grinder hid himself behind a pillar. His sides still stuck out, but he knew when to dodge. While Taus took cover behind the Pillar next to them, blind firing his Boltok. While the three Soul Killers were doing a good job of fending off the Repair bots. One robot was stationed by the observation window, leaning over a control panel. It was going to try and "snipe" one of the Soul Killers from afar. However, it seemed as though Taus got on of this attack and fired a shot at the robot. The robot ducked, but in it's haste, one of it's claws slammed on a button, pressing it hard. The Robot picked itself up, only for it's head to be shot by Taus. However, that repair bot just made it harder for The Soul Killers. Alarms blared and the remaining repair bots suddenly fled the battle. Zaach, Taus and Braahk all looked on in confusion. Down below, the alarm's were blaring even louder and the whole room turned dark red, due to the lights now switching to a warning light. The three Locust looked at the stasis pod in horror. The Regenerator was awake. The Lambent saw it was stuck and violently shook and shuffled, trying to free itself. It only took a few seconds for the Lambent beast to smash out of it's pod and leap in front of the Soul Killers. The mighty beast let out a garbled, triumphant roar as it stomped it's right foot into the ground, causing many dents and breaks. Hakar, Onwa and Sauvix found themselves unable to move, they were too shocked by the sight of the Regenerator alive and moving. The beast made a few small steps towards them. Sauvix managed to snap out his state and he whipped out his Scorcher flamethrower. He shot a jet of fire at the Regenerator. Thankfully, the creature appeared to wince in horror at the fire and back off. There was a brief standoff before the creature fled upstairs. "Fire bad…" Sauvix grinned. Hakar gave Sauvix a gentle slap to the back of the head. Not in the mood for his sarcasm or human references. "We have to stop that beast!" He ordered. The three Locust fled out of the lab and rushed back upstairs. Only to find Zaach, Taus and Braahk with looks of sheer horror on their faces. The observation window now had a large, gaping hole in it. "What was that?!" Zaach gasped. "No time to explain." Onwa hastily replied. "We have to destroy it." The other three weren't so keen on not being filled in, but they decided to go along with it. They followed Hakar, Onwa and Sauvix as they began to backtrack the way they came, kicking past the smashed metal pieces of the destroyed repair bots. They couldn't leave right away, as a hail of gunfire caused them to scatter for the pillars. Hakar just ducked his head and rolled as he saw the culprits. Cyron troops, they'd caught up! Hakar got back up and pulled out his Lancer, a quick spray of bullets shot the first trooper in the chest, Flooring him instantly. Another trooper opened fire on Hakar, forcing him to retreat to a pillar. Onwa charged an arrow and fired, but the Cyron trooper ducked down and avoided the blast. Though Taus managed to nail him with a Boltok shot, hitting him straight in the head. Not wanting to mess around, Hakar tossed a frag grenade into the entrance. The explosion caused a shake in the lab, as smoke and a few body parts spewed out of the door. One Cyron trooper was sent flying out and into the room. He was still in one piece, but badly charred, the explosion still seemed to have killed him. Only one was left and he was down on his knees, covered in his comrade's blood. Hakar approached the soldier and pulled out his serrated blade. He stabbed the trooper in the chest, causing his upper half to thrust upward. Hakar yanked the blade out and then sliced the trooper in the throat. A monotone scream was let out as the trooper fell dead on the floor. "Pathetic insects!" Hakar muttered under his breath. Hakar lead the group out of the room and down the corridors, passing the cages and back down the halls. Their progress was halted, however, as they saw a Cyron trooper emerge from a hallway, one they hadn't spotted on their way here, apparently. "Sir! Warn the others!" The trooper barked into his radio. "Subject Omega is Lo-" He never finished, as out of nowhere, a large scorpion like tail darted for the trooper and stabbed him in the chest. The trooper had time for one last painful gulp as the tail lifted him into the air. Sure enough it was the Regenerator. It must have found more Imulsion to drink, as it's mouth was dripping with it, along with the fact that it looked taller now, and much more menacing. The Regenerator peeled the trooper of it's new tail and was about to make a jump for the Locust, but Zaach, Hakar, Taus and Braahk all opened fire on the beast. The Regenerator was forced backwards as the sheer intensity of bullets caused it to stumble, however, it looked like it was shrugging off the pain. Sauvix once again shot a jet of fire in the creature's direction. Causing it to angrily shout and flee the scene, smashing the walls as it ran. "Well, at least we can scare it off." Zaach gulped. "I fear it won't be put if off for very long." Sauvix replied. The Group once again began to move, but as they reached the Lockdown door that had been hacked open. They heard the sound of a battle going on, it seemed as though the Cyron Troopers had ran into the Regenerator again. "A Crossfire! Seems too risky to try and run through it!" Onwa warned. "Even if that beast will be done with them shortly." Zaach added. Sauvix looked around and spotted another hallway he had missed. He found himself a little annoyed he hadn't noticed these. Perhaps he was a little too distracted by the lab's setting to spot them. Sauvix looked down the hall and saw what looked like an elevator shaft, big enough to hold all of them, even Braahk. "An emergency exit!" Sauvix announced. "We can escape this way!" "What of the Regenerator?! We have to destroy it!" Hakar demanded. "Sooner or later that thing will find it's way to the surface." Sauvix explained. "Besides, we'd have a better chance killing it up there than down here in these tight hallways." Hakar looked surprised, then nodded in agreement, despite his biting attitude, Sauvix was right again. Sauvix lead the group to the elevator and waited for all to step in. Once again, it creaked as Braahk made his way in, but Sauvix just brushed that off and instead worked on the controls. A few sparks flew out of the control box, but the elevator slowly began to make it's way up. "Now then… what was that thing?" Zaach demanded. Of course, his generation of drones never would've fought Regenerators. "A type of Lambent known as a Regenerator. It feeds off Imulsion to heal itself and grow stronger." Onwa grimly explained. "They were thought to be extinct a few years into the war with the humans." "Though these humans found this one and stored it." Sauvix added. "And our leader's vision guided us to it, so we may destroy it." Hakar shot Sauvix a look, the way he said that last part was in his usual, cynical tone. "He seems a little bigger… and stronger than us." Zaach gulped. "Ha! No Dark One beat us!" Braahk boomed. Zaach however, wasn't so sure. A few moments passed before the elevator finally reached it's destination. The exit was once again, blocked off with a wood barricade. Braahk simply muscled past the others and shoulder charged through the block exit, smashing the wood to pieces and making an exit. They emerged into what appeared to be an abandoned car park. It looked as though they were at the ground level though, as they could see the exit, leading back outside. "Let's see if we can find that subway entrance again." Hakar suggested. "We may be able to catch the Regenerator before it arrives." Just as the group approached the car park exit, Taus sensed something wrong. He managed to catch a glimpse of something approaching them… A Mortar shot! "Retreat!" He called out. The Mortar shot exploded outside the exit, sending Zaach flying out of one of the car park windows and into Landown streets. He was concussed by the blast, causing him to loose his sight temporarily. His hearing was also a little shattered, as everything sounded a little blurry. He could just about make out gunfire and the sound of Onwa shouting orders. Finally, Zaach's vision came back, he was on his back, lying in a small ditch in the streets. He managed to lift his head up to see three Cog Troops firing into the parking lot. The Cog? What were they doing here? The lead Cog trooper spotted Zaach and pointed him out to his troops. The three began to approach Zaach, ready to strike. However, they were stopped cold, as several bullets gunned down two of the troops, while Hakar leapt for the lead Cog and stabbed him in the face with his blade. Hakar's attack had so much force behind it that the blade easily smashed through the Cog's helmet and impaled itself nicely into his head. Hakar removed the blade and let the dead Cog fall. Zaach's hearing and vision was now back to normal, he picked himself up, only to have to duck down again with Hakar, as bullets whizzed towards the two. Assuming the others to still be pinned down in the parking lot. Hakar blind fired his Lancer at the direction of the enemy fire, but to no avail. Zaach could only watch as more Gears approached them. However, a new wave of gunfire suddenly did arise. The Gear that was approaching Hakar and Zaach stopped and turned around to see his squad mates being torn apart by some figures. Hakar and Zaach could just about see the attackers, but couldn't make them out. The sound of a chainsaw revving caught the two Locust's attention, and that's when they saw their saviour… it was Nokada! The Priestess was armed with a Lancer, she had her chainsaw revving and was charging for the Gear closest to Zaach and Hakar. When she was close enough, she flipped her Lancer upside down and stabbed it into the Gear's back, the force of and strength of Nokada caused her to lift the Gear into the air above her. The Gear screamed and squirmed as the chainsaw dug into his spine, blood spraying left and right. Soon, the painful and violent spasm of Nokada's victim died down. Another Gear looked as though he was going to try that trick as well, but Nokada saw that right away. She swung the dead Gear off her Lancer and slashed it vertically down the Gear's head, cutting both the helmet and the skull clean in half. Nokada was treated to another dosage of blood as the head pieces rolled away from each other. Finally, one last Gear shot at Nokada, he missed her, but hit her Lancer, causing her to drop it. Nokada pulled out her Gorgon pistol and sprayed a burst of bullets at the Gear, hitting him in the chest. The Gear fell to his knees as blood seeped out of the bullet holes, which had easily penetrated his armour. Nokada kicked him onto his back and stomped on his head, smashing the skull into lots of bloody pieces. Hakar and Zaach were very impressed. Nokada approached the two Soul Killers, she wiped the excess blood of her foot. "Nokada?" Hakar asked. "We… thought you may need some help." Nokada replied. Hakar smiled.

... blah bla... Eh i am dead.

Chapter 22

\- Deeper in Landown, away from the conflict, Lieutenant Pierce walked alongside the other COG forces that had arrived here. Seeing the entire Cyron unit get slaughtered was enough to send out a warning. Though he found himself at two ends, he knew The Soul Killers were the culprits and felt he wanted to get back at them… especially the drone of their team. However, he also felt it would've been wise to stay away from Landown, rather than going after those Locust. Pierce watched as the two lead Cog Soldiers stopped the group, they then knelt down and began to examine the ground. The lead troops looked a lot different than normal Cogs, their armour was much bulkier and was black, while they donned a much more square looking helmet which had a red eye visor. These were Steel Guard soldiers. Elite troops sent in to deal with tougher situations… mainly Soul Killer related problems. Present here was what appeared to be a Commander, told apart by his hints of purple around his shoulders, and a regular Steel Guard. The Steel Guard Commander was checking out what looked like a discarded Hammerburst clip. A Locust had been fighting here. The Soldier threw the clip to one side and turned to Pierce. "The Cyron Team ran into other Locust as well as Soul Killers?" He asked. "That's right." Pierce replied. "They held down the normal Locust very well, but The Soul Killers arrived and demolished the entire squad, as well as both a Peacekeeper and a Defender." "Any idea as to why Soul Killers were here?" Pierce wasn't so sure, he didn't want to say aloud why he was accompanying the Cyron team, but were The Soul Killers really here for the same reason? To find Subject Omega? Maybe, Delta Squad had discovered Locust had been at war with so called "Lambent Locust" for quite some time. "Not sure sir." Pierce said uneasily. Pierce then looked back at the COG soldiers, there seemed to be quite a lot of them. "These Prescott's… personal division?" Pierce asked rather sarcastically. "Prescott's ordered a Blackout." The Steel Guard Commander explained bluntly. "Total Elimination of threat by any means necessary." "Yes yes I remember my military Jargon." Pierce hissed. "The Soul Killers are reported to be here… Prescott wants a Blackout." The Steel Guard Commander announced. "Can't have them running amok any longer." "I agree." Pierce said, slightly unsure. "Though does Hoffman know about this?" The Commander gave Pierce a blank and lifeless stare for a few seconds. "Prescott's orders." He reiterated. Pierce shrugged his shoulders in an annoyed manner. He decided not to ask anymore questions, he knew the score now. Prescott was willing to go to extreme lengths, even sacrifice his own "Personal Troops" to hunt down these Soul Killers. Little knowing that even his so called Best would still be no match. - Nokada helped both Hakar and Zaach up off the ground, Zaach thought it was a good thing she had arrived, he genuinely felt he was going to get killed there. Hakar was just happy for the reinforcements, though he still felt he could've taken on those humans himself. "Thank you." Hakar said. "I do not mean to discredit your status as an Elite, but I thought even you may need some help." Nokada pointed out, though not in a insulting or patronising manner. "We're grateful." Zaach gasped, still shaken up by that encounter. He had to stand on his tip-toes to get a glance over Nokada's shoulders, since she was a Kantus, she was much taller than him. He could see Ithak and Ara had joined in as well. Ithak looked to be finishing off a dead Cog with a neck snap, while Ara was armed with a Longshot, keeping an eye out for danger. Zaach turned back to the parking lot which he had been sent flying out of, the other Soul Killers were picking themselves up and exiting the building. All alive, that was a good thing. "So, what happened?" Nokada asked. "Why bring your troops out here?" Even though Hakar had told the others, he still felt unsure about repeating it aloud. Though with Nokada, a T'Chark worshipper now present, maybe it wouldn't sound so crazy. Despite that, he decided to pull her away from Zaach. "It seems as though I was contacted by T'Chark." He whispered. "She came to me in a dream, or at least, a form of her did." Nokada looked surprised, but not awe-shocked like the others were when he told them about it. "What did she tell you?" Nokada asked. "She warned me of a Lambent creature… A Regenerator." Hakar explained. The name sent a shiver down Nokada's spine, she had heard of the Regenerators, the fear and devastation they caused. Just as she was about to ask how they had found it, Hakar cut her off and answered her question. "The humans had one captured and put into some kind of Research base." Hakar continued. "T'Chark ordered me to destroy it. Though it got loose, it could well end up in the surface." "If that is the case, we must destroy it before it can escape this place." Nokada warned. "To have a Dark One such as a Regenerator loose on this world would spell certain doom." "That's almost what The Goddess told me." Hakar replied, still sounding unsure of what he was saying. Meanwhile, Braahk lumbered over to where Ara was standing. She turned around when she saw him approach, knowing exactly what he was going to ask. "Ara? You here?" He gasped. "Of course, I must help Nokada and Ithak." She replied with a smile. "They've helped me." "That no problem… but what of…?" Before Braahk could finish, Ara rested her hand on his shoulder. "It's okay Braahk, Chex is fine." She reassured. "He's in safe hands." "Good… Good." Braahk sighed. Sauvix wasn't really paying any attention to the reunion. He wanted to point out to Hakar that they had a slightly more pressing issue to deal with. He walked over to where Hakar and Nokada were to deliver his problems. "I fear we do not have time for pleasantries right now." Sauvix barked. "Those humans could well have been a small scouting party. There could be more!" "There will be." Nokada confessed. "We saw quite a few of them, both soldiers and war machines, in the area." "Well, that's everything we need." Sauvix growled. "As well as our Regenerator friend on the loose." "Yes, Hakar told me about the Dark one. Alas, I fear our defenders wouldn't be able to handle both." "Wait… Defenders?" Hakar noted. "Many other Locust wished to join us when we went searching for you." Nokada explained. "They have set up defences at an old building nearby. They thought it would be wise to hold off the humans in case they came too close to the mountain pass leading to the tribe's hideout." "Pfft, holding off humans armed to the teeth in a small building?" Sauvix hissed in his usual manner. "You have to admire their optimism, even in these times." Hakar, however, was having a think. Maybe that defence post could come in handy for them. It would deal with both the humans and the Regenerator… or maybe it couldn't. Hakar decided it was a gamble worth taking. "Take us to this point." Hakar requested. "What's your plan?" Nokada asked. "We should hold off the humans, but the battle may attract the Regenerator. It's not used to this surface world, so seeing both us and the humans may draw it here. Granted, it'll try and destroy both parties, but with more room to manoeuvre out here, we may stand a chance." Nokada paused for a moment to think it through, but she soon decided that it was worth the risk. She went to tell Ithak, Ara and the other Soul Killers of the plan. Sauvix, however, was uncertain. "Are you insane?" He hissed. "I think even we have limits." "That Regenerator could well have broken out of the laboratory now, but it couldn't have gone far from here." Hakar claimed. "It sees everything as a threat, so the humans shall be our bait." Sauvix shook his head in disapproval. "It's no different to that story you told us, when those reptiles devoured soldiers stationed at a camp?" Sauvix remembered that, he read up on how a COG and UIR camp were fighting each other in the south islands. However, the smell of blood attracted gangs of Crocodiles, who then tore apart both parties soldiers. "Yes, but…" Sauvix tried to protest, though Hakar wasn't having any of it. "It's a risk we'll just have to take." Hakar stated. Nothing was going to shift him. "Very well… I was going to die sooner or later." Sauvix sighed, frustrated. Hakar just shrugged and gathered up all The Soul Killers and The Lost together. It was going to be a risky battle, fending off both the humans and at the same time, drawing out the Regenerator. Though Hakar didn't seem worried, he had survived plenty of other battles before. This one, to him, did not seem any different. "Here is what will happen." Hakar announced. "The human attacking party is here in Landown. We must lure them to this defence point and hold them off. They cannot find out about the passage to our hideout!" All the Soul Killers nodded in agreement. They seemed to be going along with it, though Sauvix still showed his scepticism in the plan. "This battle may also draw out the Dark One, we could possibly use the humans as bait for it." Hakar added. "Out here, we may stand more of a chance when fighting it." "Assuming the humans don't kill us first." Sauvix hissed. "Ha! No way!" Braahk cheered. "Let the little babies come to their death!" "Yeah, and now we have Ta cherk on our side!" Zaach chimed in. "T'Chark" Ara giggled. "Right!" The little battle plan huddle had to stop, as bullets suddenly whizzed right over the group, forcing them to duck down. Taus poked his head up to see just in the distance, what looked like a party of COG troops, lead by a Steel Guard soldier, where heading towards them. "Enemy approaching!" Taus warned. "Nokada, can you take us to this defence point?" Hakar asked over the bullets. "Yes, follow me!" Nokada lead the group away from the parking lot and took them deeper into the Landown village. They used road that went down their right, as the COG forces were approaching from a left road. Braahk back-peddled at first, making sure he could gun down any threat that he saw. As the group ran further into the village, passing many buildings such as houses and shops, they appeared to lose their attackers for a moment. The group stopped at an intersection to catch their breath. "That's it? We've lost them?" Zaach panted. "No… they'd never give up a chase that easily." Onwa pointed out. "Especially since they're after us." "Wait!" Taus whispered. "Do you hear something?" The group all stopped and listened in, they could defiantly hear something. A loud, rumbling noise of some kind, almost like heavy machinery on the move. The group was also vibrating, as small rocks and little clods of dirt bounced up and down off the ground. The weak windows of the old buildings trembled and began to crack, bits of roof fell off and they began to make eerie creaking noises. "Something big is heading this way." Onwa warned. Sure enough, just around the corner of where they had just ran from, The Soul Killers spotted the horrific sight of a menacing Centaur Tank. A deadly vehicle used by the COG, armed with a cannon that could destroy a Brumak in seconds, yet fitted with large wheels to crush anything in it's path. The scary thing being, such a large, beast of a vehicle was capable of moving so fast. Unknown to the others, when Ithak spotted the vehicle, she immediately retreated into one of the buildings on the group's right. The others could only stare at in in horror for a few seconds, before fleeing. The Centaur fired it's first shot, blasting where The Soul Killer had just been standing a few seconds ago. It may not have hit any of them, but the ground and small pieces of shrapnel rained down on them as they ran. It fired another shot, this time, blowing open a building on their left. The group had to swerve out of the way as debris collapsed right before them. The Centaur began to pick up it's pace and chase after the group at a faster speed. The next shot was ready, The Centaur took aim and fired at the Locust. The shot hit just behind the group, Braahk was sent flying forward, dropping his mulcher and landing face down on the dirt. The group could only look on in horror as the Centaur drove closer to them. Looking to finish off Braahk by running him down. However, it never got it's chance. "Look!" Zaach called out. Up on the rooftops of the buildings, the group spotted Ithak standing above the scene, eying up the Centaur Tank. Armed with a chainsaw staff, she let out a battle screech, before leaping down onto the tank. Ithak roared again as she drove her chainsaw staff into the tank's thick armour. Sparks and smoke spluttered everywhere as the air was pierced with a screeching noise that could make one's ears bleed. The Soul Killers could only watch in both awe and bemusement as Ithak tore through the Centaur's armour. Much like how Skorge had done during Hollow Storm. After only a few seconds. Ithak leapt off the tank and landed right in front of it, she stood proud for a few seconds as the tank barely moved. Just then, the tank split in half and burst into in flames. The back part completed incinerated, while the front half began to sink into the dirt. Just behind her, what looked like the charred remains of the tank's driver flopped out and landed beside the ruins. "Impressed?" Ithak laughed. "Very!" Zaach cheered, though Nokada gave him a slap on the back of the head for that. She didn't really want Ithak's recklessness rewarded. Before she could berate Ithak, however, the attention turned back to Braahk. Who turned out to be fine, as he was lifting his head out of the dirt and rubbing the back of his skull. His face was dirty and he had a small cut above his eyes. "Braahk!" Ara cried, rushing over to him. "Are you okay?" "Bah, is just cuts." Braahk smiled. "No problem." Ara spotted Braahk's mulcher in the dirt next to him, she went over to pick it up, but found it was surprisingly heavy. Onwa walked over and just about managed to hoist it up. "Allow me." He insisted. Ara smiled as Onwa just about managed to hand the mulcher back to Braahk. Who swiped it and held onto it with ease. "Well, at least Ithak stopped the Centaur tank." said Hakar. "Though we should probably get going now." Nokada nodded, deciding to give Ithak an earful later. She lead the group away from the wreckage of the Centaur tank and continued the trek to the defence point. - Passing by more destroyed houses and abandoned buildings, the group finally made it to what appeared to be the defence point. It looked to be some kind of gigantic mansion like building, hundreds planted trees, shrubberies and various other plants were presented proudly in the garden in front of the building. There was a fountain at the steps leading up to the front door and a statue of Chairman Prescott, which someone, surprisingly not The Locust, had vandalised by drawing a moustache on it. Some of the windows had been boarded up and there were various construction ladders scattered around. Despite it's rustic looking appearance, the bright sun shone down upon the building, making it shine. "A Plantation house?" Sauvix asked. "I didn't think were still around." The house itself had a ground floor, a second floor and then a roof which was also some sort of balcony that could be stood on, almost like a viewing post. At the front of the house, various sandbags had been set up by the Locust, so that they could take cover behind them. Sniper Drones were stationed at the windows, while up on the roof balcony, Drones armed with mortars prepared themselves. The Soul Killers went over to the house and joined up with the others to prepare the defences. Much to Onwa's annoyance, Ferex was there. She paid no attention to him or Hakar, save for the odd glance. Jareek the Bolter Drone was also present here, looking a lot better than he had been. "The humans may have caught up by now." Onwa said to Hakar, ignoring Ferex. "We better be prepared." "Taus, you get up to the roof." Hakar ordered. Taus nodded and went inside. Ara, who was armed with a Longshot as well, followed him. The groups all set themselves up to fight the attacking humans. Hakar, Nokada, Sauvix and Zaach stationed themselves at the bottom floor of the house and the outside. Braahk was on the second floor, so that he could lay down suppressing fire on the attackers, while Onwa, Ithak, Taus and Ara were on the roof, hoping to get a good view of the whole battle. It seemed like only seconds before the enemy arrived. A lone Locust Drone was able to shout "ground-walker!" before a bullet ripped through his head, killing him instantly. Taus looked down the scope and saw what looked like a small advancing party of COG Troops. Taus aimed at the first soldier he could see, and pulled the trigger. The bullet shot itself straight into the centre of the Cog's head, blood covering his entire face as he fell backwards like a plank of wood. The other troops, panicked by the shot, took measures to find cover. They moved through the trees in an attempt to throw the sniper off, but Taus wasn't fooled. He and another Sniper Drone fired again, both Locust hitting their targets. Taus smiled as he saw two dead Cogs tumbled out of the trees. Onwa, charging his torque bow, fired an arrow straight into the trees. Various leaves were sent flying as the arrow exploded, though this wasn't a miss, as when the small smoke cleared. The remnants of a Cog soldier were lying in a pool of blood, the soldier's arms and legs scattered and it's torso non-existent. One Cog soldier sprayed Lancer fire at the house and got a lucky shot, as some of the bullets struck on the Sniper drones at the window. The dead Locust's body collapsed over the window and splattered onto the ground below. Onwa fired another Torque arrow, this one ripping through the first Cog's head, slicing it clean in half. As the bloody, headless body collapsed, the arrow landed right in front of another COG. He managed to roll out of the way of the arrow, but Taus had him in his sights, and blasted the Cog's head open with a Sniper shot before he could get back up. It seemed as though the advancing party had been killed. Most of the Drones were happy, but The Soul Killers weren't convinced. "That seemed to easy." Zaach gulped. "I fear that was only wave one." Sauvix grimly stated. Sauvix was right once again, as from a distance, a sniper bullet from the other direction whizzed through the air and struck one of the Mortar drones on the roof. His head blowing open and blood striking his comrades. Who were startled momentarily by the shock. Taus ducked down and began to search for the sniper. While he did this, a new wave of Cog troops began to charge towards the house. They tossed frag grenades in the direction of the enemy and some of them, armed with a large, portable chain guns of some kind, sprayed bullets at the Locust. Hakar, Sauvix and Nokada managed to retreat back inside, though Zaach was forced to remain behind the sandbags, as the firepower of the enemy was too intense. The drones accompanying him, were not so lucky, as they were torn apart by the Cog's bullets and grenades. Zaach could only keep his head down as body parts and other dead drones splattered around him. A Boomer foolishly stepped outside to attack the Cogs. He did manage to fire off one Boomshot round and blow apart a small group of Cogs, but the others sprayed bullets into his body, before the mysterious Cog Sniper struck his head, killing him. Taus continued his search, until he spotted behind one of the trees to the right of the house. A Cog soldier armed with a Longshot aiming at the rooftops, that had to be him. Sure enough, Taus saw the quick flash of him firing and just as that happened, another Mortar drone was killed. Taus got his own back and shot the sniper. Smiling as his headless corpse slumped up against a tree. Braahk, meanwhile, was standing by one of the large windows of the second floor. He stuck his Mulcher out of the window and rained down bullets upon the attackers, some were ducking and diving out of the way, and the Cogs carrying the heavier machine guns were easy picking. Braahk roared as he watched many of his prey by reduced to bloody red chunks, embedded with hot mulcher bullets. "Stupid Oo-mons!" Braahk growled. "Pick on someone your own size!" As the battle raged on, a Peacekeeper robot lumbered into the slaughter. It's more precise aiming with it's large chain gun turning the battle in the favour of the Cogs. Bullets ricocheted off it's armour as it stomped forward, gunning down the sniper drones in the second floor windows. Onwa, on the roof, rushed over to the mortars and grabbed one off a dead drones. He placed it firmly on the ground and took a good look at the battlefield. Even with one eye, he was good at surveying the scene. He wound up the mortar's trajectory and fired. The Peacekeeper could only look up as mortar shells hurled down from the heaves towards it. The heavy explosives easily demolished the robot, along with a few fool-hearty Cogs that ran along side it. Any wounded survivors of that blast were ripped apart by Braahk's mulcher. Braahk laughed as he picked off the fleeing wounded. Onwa reloaded the Mortar while Taus, Ara and a few surviving drones kept him covered. Back down below, Zaach was now able to swipe a Hammerburst from a dead comrades and pop out of cover, he fired off a few shots and managed to gun down two Cog soldiers. A third, armed with a Gnasher, was able to roll out of the way and continue his charge. Zaach, however, was quick to react and blasted the Cog's kneecaps, shattering the armour and breaking the knees, the bullets knocked the Cog down onto all fours. Zaach jumped over the sandbag and rushed towards the wounded Cog. Feeling like he wanted a little payback, Zaach grabbed the Cog and used him as a meat shield. "Hey! Let go of me!" The Cog shouted, trying to wrestle out of Zaach's grip, but the Soul Killer was far too strong. Using a Boltok, Zaach fired off a few shots, but there didn't seem to be any Cogs around, so Zaach felt he was done with his shield. "You wish to return to your friends, human?" Zaach slyly cackled, pulling out a Bolo Grenades. "Well, go join them!" Zaach them slammed the grenade into the Cog's neck and kicked him away, he then chortled smugly as the Cog screamed and desperately tried to remove the grenade. "No! NO! ARRGH…" Was all the Cog could yell before exploding. Zaach laughed at the sight, but was a little disappointed at the same time because there weren't any other Cogs around to greet their exploding friend. Several more Drones and Grenadiers joined Zaach outside to help him fight off the humans, while Hakar, Nokada and Sauvix all provided covering fire from the windows. Up on the roof, Ithak threw a well timed Ink grenade into the trees to the left, as Taus had just spotted a party trying to sneak towards them. The ink grenade exploded and forced the Cog's out into the open. Taus was able to strike two or three as they fled, but the rest were able to fall back. Unknown to all the Locust, in the tree's to the right, a Steel Guard soldier stealthy advanced towards them. Swiftly and slightly, he rushed through the plants and made his way over to the entrance, standing to the right of Zaach and three other drones. The Steel Guard made his move, he popped out of the shrubbery and opened fire on the Locust, hitting the three drones in the head with ease. Zaach's hammer burst was shot out of his hand, stunning him for a second. The Steel Guard used this and rushed over to Zaach, kicking him in the stomach. The winded Zaach fell onto his back and watched as the Steel Guard revved his Lancer's chainsaw blade. However, Hakar rushed out, Lancer in hand, and attacked the soldier, who clashed his chainsaw blade with Hakar's, locking them in a duel. Despite his strength, Hakar found this Steel Guard Trooper to be giving him a challenge. Both tried to push back the other, but neither could. Hakar gritted his teeth and stared into the soulless eye visor of the Trooper as he too, looked back with anger. Much to Zaach's horror, The Steel Guardsman was able to un-blade Hakar by kicking him in the shin. Just as Hakar was about to be struck, Sauvix rushed out and blasted him three times with a Gnasher Shotgun. Small bits of blood squirted out of damaged parts of the trooper's armour, caused by the Gnasher. Knocked to his knees, Sauvix whipped out his Scorcher Flamethrower and kicked the trooper onto his back. Stabbing the Scorcher into the Trooper's midsection, Sauvix growled and fired a jet of flame into the enemy's body. The Steel Guardsman screamed in horrific, spine shivering pain as fire spewed out of his arms, chest and head. Finally, Sauvix yanked the Scorcher out of the trooper's charred torso. Smoke spewing out of his helmet and open wounds. "Not like you to try and save me." Hakar chortled, picking himself and Zaach up. "Don't get used to it." Sauvix growled. The Irony was rather lost on Zaach. Hakar lead Zaach back inside, though before Sauvix stepped in, he looked at the torched Steel Guard and smiled boastfully. "Next please." He sneered. -

Lost and confused, The Lambent Regenerator stumbled around Landown, shocked by it's surroundings. It had only known two worlds, The Hollow and that small lab those non-locust creatures had confined it to. Surprisingly, the Regenerator came across as a bit timid, not really sure of what to do or where to go. It looked around for a bit longer, before slumping onto it's backside and giving up. An answer came quickly however, as the Regenerator was startled by the sight of a Stranded flying out of a door and crashing onto the ground before it. The Regenerator stared at the dead stranded for a few seconds, before a voice caught it's attention. "Pathetic beings! They are useless!" The voice boomed. The gigantic Rampage stomped furiously out of the building the dead stranded had just flown from, the Lambent warrior was frustrated with no luck finding where The Soul Killers were hiding. Behind him Slicer casually stepped out, Lancer in hand. "In the name of The Overseers, we will…" Rampage was going to bellow, but was stopped by the sight of the Regenerator. "Look Slicer!" He gasped. "A fellow brethren has found his way here!" The Regenerator cautiously approached the two Lambent, though it did recognize them as allies, for the Imulsion flowing through the veins. "Vhere have you come from?" Slicer asked. "Vhat are you doing here?" The conversation was stopped, as the Lambent trio were suddenly attracted to the sound of a battle nearby. "Hmm… warfare here?" Rampage pondered. "Only certain scum could possibly fight now!" Slicer turned his attention back to the Regenerator. "Vhy don't you come vith us?" He asked slyly. "You may prove useful…" - Zaach had now joined Braahk up on the second floor of the house, laying down suppressing fire on the advancing Cogs. Zaach was there purely to pick off and wounded survivors. Braahk was making rather easy work of the Cogs. However, the battle was once again, going to shift. The Steel Guard Commander had snuck onto the battlefield, hiding where their sniper used to be. He stole the rifle off the dead Cog and reloaded it, when that was done, he aimed it carefully at the second story window and fired off a shot. The bullet hit Braahk's shoulder, the wounded Grinder flinched and retreated behind the corner of the window. Zaach was now pinned down by returning fire of the Cogs. The Steel Guard Commander wasn't really trying to kill the Grinder just yet… he wanted to injure him, then get him while he was down. Up on the Roof, Onwa tried to fix his jammed Torque Bow while Ithak frantically searched for more grenades. Taus was left to pick off the attackers. He fire one or two shots and successfully killed both targets, though just as he was ready to strike another target, the searing pain in his neck struck again! Why now? He wasn't being cocky or anything, yet the pain was burning, and to top if off, he had jammed his reload! Back down below, Zaach peeked around the corner and saw the Cogs gun down several drones and grenadiers with ease. They then turned their attention to Zaach's window and unloaded a hail of gunfire at him. "Come on Taus! I need some help!" He pleaded, though he said that to himself. Braahk was struggling to get back into the action, as the bullet had dug itself rather deeply into his shoulder. Thankfully, a sniper bullet blasted the head of a Cog soldier. Then another, then another, the Cogs were quickly being gunned down by Longshot rounds, any remaining had to retreat. "That's more like it!" Zaach cheered. The eager Soul Killer rushed up a stairway leading to the roof, he opened a door and found himself up with the roof-goers. He saw Taus lying behind cover, checking his Longshot. "Excellent shots Taus!" Zaach complimented. "You saved me and Braahk!" Taus looked at Zaach, rather confused. "Modest, are we?" Zaach jeered, though in a friendly way. "That wasn't me Zaach." Taus replied. Zaach was rather stunned by that comment, Taus wasn't the one executing those perfect sniper shots? An answers soon came to him. Standing next to Taus, Ara was reloading her Longshot rifle, smoke coming out of the barrel from a fresh shot. She looked at Zaach and gave him a wink, before turning back to the action. Zaach and Taus smiled and nodded in approval. - Zaach returned to the second floor of the building, where Braahk looked as though he had made a recovery, as he was back to the window, blasting the enemy Cogs with his Mulcher. "You think I gone?" He roared. "You think I forget you? Wrong oo-mons!" Zaach stood by the other corner and joined in with Braahk, the pair of them easily shooting the attacking or fleeing Cog soldiers. Back on the Roof, Onwa scored a hit with a Torque arrow, while Taus and Ara watched the exploding Cog through their scopes. Ithak threw two more Ink grenades into the trees, hoping to clear out any hiding Cogs. "Look!" Shouted Ara. The four Locust watched as another Peacekeeper robot, backed by two shielded Defender units, marched towards the Plantation house. They could only watch in horror as the Defenders used their grenade launchers to destroy the drones outside. Blood and body parts splattered against the fountain, statue and walls of the house as the Defenders made short work of the Locust Drones. "Ithak! Can you help me with these Mortars!" Onwa shouted. "Not a problem!" Ithak cheered. The two Locust grabbed the Mortars and dragged them over to the edge of the rooftop. Taus and Ara continued to snipe at enemy Cog soldiers, while the other Locust and Soul Killers fired from below. Onwa could only flinch as he saw another group of drones blown to pieces by a Defender's grenade, while any wounded where gunned down by the Peacekeeper. One Defender struck a Boomer with a grenade, sending the remains flying back into the house, while the second Defender crushed a crawling Drone with it's shield. "Ready?" Onwa asked. "Let's crush them!" Ithak cackled. Both Onwa and Ithak fired their mortar shots at the same time, The Defenders were too late in spotting the shells. One was blown to pieces by the attack, while the other was sent flying to it's left, damaged, but not out of the fight yet. The Peacekeeper, however, had spotted the attack and darted to the right field, avoiding the mortar shells. The large Robot managed to storm it's way to the front of the house. "Hakar!" Zaach gasped, knowing that he was down at the front entrance. Zaach abandoned his post and rushed back down. "Zaach! No go!" Braahk tried to call him, but to no avail. Zaach reached the downstairs of the building, only to find that Hakar, Sauvix and Nokada were no where to be seen. He hastily looked around, only to be caught by surprise by the Peacekeeper. The might Robot backhanded Zaach, sending him crashing into the wall. If the Steel Guard kicking him was bad, this was even worse, as Zaach was in much more pain. He could pick himself up as he found his back pretty much glued to the wall. "Target identified." The Peacekeeper bellowed in it's metallic roar. "Destroy hostile Locust." Suddenly, out of nowhere popped Ferex! Where had she been hiding for the whole fight? Zaach didn't recall her helping at any point. Well now she was helping, the Theron pushed Zaach out of the way just as the Peacekeeper opened fire. Zaach watched in horror as Ferex was torn apart by the chain gun bullets. She went down within seconds. The Peacekeeper then turned back to Zaach. "Secondary target eliminated." It boomed. "Proceeding to primary target!" The Peacekeeper wasn't given it's chance to strike, as it's side were struck by Boomshot rockets. Zaach looked over to see Hakar and Nokada, armed with scavenged Boomshots, open fire on the robot. They were able to reload while the robot was stunned, once ready, they fired off two more rockets, knocking the Peacekeeper flat on it's side and tearing apart it's armour. "Ssss… system failure…" It was able to utter, before it went offline from too much damage. Nokada helped Zaach up off the ground while Hakar went over to the dying Ferex. Sure, she had been a little biting to him, but she was still a member of the tribe. While Nokada and a newly emerged Sauvix tended to Zaach, Hakar saw Ferex use the last of her strength to point to Zaach. "Keep… him… alive." She was able to utter, before succumbing to her wounds and dying. Once again, more warning to Hakar about keeping Zaach alive. "You said the Regenerator wouldn't be able to resist a good fight." Sauvix hissed. "Well, all I see are Cog reinforcements!" Hakar snapped out of his trance and stood up to face Sauvix. "Obviously, it's running late." He replied calmly. "Have faith for once, it'll turn up." Hakar rushed up the stairs to the next floor, it sounded liked he was gathering up Braahk and taking him to the roof where the others were. "Welcome to the first insight into his insanity." Sauvix sneered to Nokada. The Medic then sighed and joined his leader in heading to the roof. Nokada and Zaach looked at each other, shrugged, then raced up to the roof. - All of the Soul Killers and remaining Locust were now up on the roof. Jareek was looking around for any other Cogs, now acting as a spotter for Taus and Ara. "These humans are sneaky!" Jareek barked. Just before anyone could reply, there were severe tremors which shook the foundations of the plantation house, a few Locust were also tipped over by the quake. The sound of explosions could be heard not far from here. "That… that has to reinforcements!" Zaach gulped. "They have more heavy weapons!" "What now, leader?" Sauvix barked. "Stay your ground!" Hakar ordered. "We fight off the Cogs here or die trying!" "No… Look!" Taus shouted. - The Steel Guard commander had been hidden away in the shrubbery, picking off any Locust foolish enough to step outside. He had racked up quite a kill count by himself, though a shame his trooper had to die at the hands of a Soul Killer. The commander didn't want to die at the hands of them, he wanted their deaths on HIS hands. The remaining Locust all appeared to have fled up to the rooftops, leaving the entrance unguarded. Perfect, though the commander, as he emerged from the trees. Armed with his Lancer, he approached the house entrance. However, something caught his attention, he could hear an all too familiar whizzing sound behind him. Shocked, the commander turned around to see a Boomshot rocket heading right for him. The rocket destroyed the Commander, blowing him into pieces, leaving behind a bloody mess. - The Soul Killers looked on as a new enemy had joined the fight, a faction that left behind stench that they could smell even from here. The smell of fuel and burning flesh. The Lambent had arrived, more specifically, Rampage and Slicer… along with the Regenerator. "Look who's answered the feeding bell." Hakar said smugly to Sauvix. Down below, Rampage was tearing apart the remaining Cog soldiers with a mixture of boomshot rockets and his chain whips. He sliced one soldier clean in half while beheading another, all in the same whip toss. Slicer, meanwhile, had gunned down a few fleeing humans, but then revved his Lancer and shoved it into a Cog's spine, tearing him in half. The Regenerator looked on in amazement. Only a small group of Cogs had managed to retreat, the rest had been torn apart by Rampage and Slicer. "And now… The Soul Killers are next!" Rampage triumphantly bellowed. "Come friend." Slicer suggested to the Regenerator. "Let us kill them!" Though the Regenerator wasn't really paying attention, he was too busy looking at all that delicious Imulsion flowing through his comrades bodies. He wanted it to make himself stronger. The Regenerator then leapt onto Slicer, pinning him onto the ground. Using it's rockworm like tongue, it gouged straight into Slicer's neck and began to drink up the Imulsion that flowed through his torched veins. Rampage spotted this and become furious. "Traitor!" He roared. "How dare you attack warriors of the Overseers!" Rampage raised his fist to attack, but the Regenerator had drunk enough, it was now bigger and stronger than Rampage, and it's scorpion tail had grown a much bigger sting. The Regenerator used it's tail to swipe Rampage's knees, sending him onto the ground. Still thirsty, the Regenerator bit Rampage's neck and began to drink more Imulsion. The Soul Killers could only look on in horror as the Regenerator got even bigger now. "Suggestions?" Sauvix gulped. The Regenerator let out a might roar and charged towards the Plantation house. At one point, it was stopped by the Defender unit that had survived the Mortar strike, though the Regenerator wasn't in the mood to be stopped. It grabbed hold of the Defender, then sliced it in half with it's tail. Now even more annoyed, The Regenerator charged up to the Plantation house and began to scale the walls and race for the roof. It used it's tail to stab one unlucky drone and fling him off the roof. Then, once it reached the roof, it simply grabbed another unfortunate drone, bit it's head off, then tossed the body away. "Fall back!" Hakar ordered. The Regenerator spotted Sauvix, armed with his Scorcher, and knew he was the biggest threat. The Lambent Monster backhanded Sauvix, sending him flying back. It then elbowed Taus out of the way. As the remaining Locust retreated, Jareek stood before the might Lambent and armed himself with his Boltok. He pointed it at the Regenerator's face and opened fire. "You'll pay! You'll pay for Bohvak!" Jareek roared as he fire off several Boltok shots. Alas, it was in vein, as the unimpressed Regenerator simply used it's tail to stab Jareek. Lifting up the Bolter's corpse into the air. Though despite his grave injury, Jareek kept fighting, he continued to shoot off two more rounds into the Lambent's face, but to no avail. Behind the Lambent, Taus had managed to recover from the strike and was back up on his feet. He looked around for his Longshot, but couldn't find it. Though the Regenerator was too busy dealing with Jareek to noticed that Taus had recovered. Ara, using that to their advantage, tossed her scythe over the monster's head and at Taus's feet. Taus spotted Ara and nodded, knowing how to use it. With enough momentum, Taus actually ran up the Regenerator's back and swung the scythe around to it's neck. Impaling it successfully, the Regenerator roared in pain as it tried to shake Taus off, but the Soul Killer was staying on. "One for Bohvak…" Taus uttered as he dragged the scythe's blade through the Lambent's neck, spilling Imulsion as he beheaded the monster. The head wasn't done yet, as it used it's spinal cord as a snake like tail and tried to slither away. Taus stomped on the spine, stopping the Regenerator moving. Just as he did this, he spotted his Longshot and pointed it at the Lambent's skull. "… and one for you Torgr." Taus fired a shot and blasted the Regenerator's head clean open, the monster screamed and continued to squirm in pain as Taus lifted his boot off the spinal cord. Sauvix rushed in and set the head on fire with his scorcher. The two Locust watched as the head went into a spasm of agony, while it's headless body tumbled over and fell off the roof. After a few seconds, the head finally came to a stop, letting out one last squeal before dying. Taus took a few deep breaths while Sauvix stepped on the charred head just to make sure it was truly dead. The other Soul Killers approached Taus and gave him their congratulations. "Well done." Hakar announced. Taus merely nodded in acknowledgement. Onwa knelt down and picked up the deceased Jareek, the Lambent creature had torn his organs apart with it's tail. There was nothing they could do for him. However, at least now, he was re-united with his brother, and released from this world. "That was far too close." Sauvix said, but not too loud or angrily. "Surely even you thought we wouldn't win this fight?" Hakar didn't reply, but Sauvix did have a point. Even for them, it looked a little hopeless. "Onwa, summon the Reavers, we are done here." Hakar uttered. - Lieutenant Pierce was now glad he had chosen to stay out of the battle, he knew they would lose against the Soul Killers, even the Steel Guard were defeated. Though Pierce wanted Hoffman to know about Prescott's little waste of COG resources. He got out his radio and began his message.

"Colonel Hoffman, sir?" He said. "You should know about this…"

Almost over

Chapter 23 the end

Chairman Prescott sat face down on his desk in his makeshift office. He'd just heard back from the troops that were lucky enough to actually survive the onslaught that the attack had, like all strikes against The Soul Killers, had been a total failure. Sure, they'd put up a good fight, but the patriotic propaganda was wearing thin, especially at this time. What with Jacinto sinking, rumours of Stranded insurgency increasing and so forth. The Chairman didn't want to think about it, though this was going to be another humiliating defeat that would haunt him for a long time coming. Up there with pretty much any other time the COG were slaughtered and the words "Soul Killers" came up in the action report. Still, he had the remnants of Cyron on his side, along with his own, "secret" batch of fanatically loyal troops, nothing like the batch that were with Hoffman and Delta. Heck, he'd even recruited a few Steel Guardsman to aid him. Though at this moment, he didn't want to think about the defeat at the Plantation House. Alas, someone was about to remind him of his failure. "So, how'd your little Soul Killer hunt go? Badly, I presume." Jeered a voice. Prescott looked up to see Hoffman standing in the doorway, his arms folded and a stern, disappointed look engraved in his face. Hoffman stared daggers into the Chairman. "How… how do you know?" Prescott hissed. "Pierce came forward and told me about your little… ahem… 'illegal' hunt with your troops." Hoffman replied. Only saying the word "illegal" because it was the mildest thing Hoffman could come up with. Part of him really wanted to say "Reckless" or even point out that using what could've been the last of humanities armies to hunt down Locust that had forever crushed them every time they met almost seemed inhuman. Prescott couldn't reply, he just stared back at Hoffman in utter fear, he could feel his hands trembling, then clench into fists. "You even roped in some Steel Guard for your hunt?" Hoffman added in sarcastic amazement. "Do you not realise how starved for soldiers we are right now? Losing the squads searching for the missing Raven was bad enough, but this?" Before Hoffman could continue, Prescott lifted himself out of his chair and have Hoffman a look of utter anger and frustration. "Listen to me Colonel, you may have given up, but I refuse to so much as sleep, knowing that The Soul Killers are still alive." He barked furiously. "I'll do whatever it takes to see that they are destroyed!" "Including wasting the lives of good soldiers?" Hoffman bitterly retorted. That comment was the one that finally caused Prescott to snap. He slammed his fists down onto the table in utter fury, but Hoffman didn't even flinch. "Get out." Prescott snapped. "You deal with the Stranded insurgents and helping every settle… leave the Soul Killers with me! Understand?" Hoffman didn't say a word, he stared at Prescott for a few more seconds, before quietly leaving the office. Gently closing the door behind him. Hoffman looked around and spotted A Steel Guard soldier, casually patrolling around. He noticed the Colonel and approached him, saluting as he did. "Is everything alright sir?" The guard asked. "Just one thing soldier." Hoffman replied. "Is Commander Dekker back from his reconnaissance trip?" "Not yet sir." The guard said. "Well, when he returns, tell him I want to speak to him." Hoffman ordered. "I want to make sure he doesn't hand over his troops to anymore of Prescott's mad hunts." "Yes sir." The Steel Guard replied. He then saluted again and left the scene. - The Soul Killers had returned to the tribe battered and bruised, but still victorious. At least they could still hold onto their "never defeated" calling card. Though this fight had been a close call, the humans were bad enough, but the presence of the Lambent made the fight all the more terrifying. Lots of warriors had perished at the scene, including Jareek, who's soul was now reunited with his brother. All fell silent amongst the tribe as Brother Markon held the remembrance gathering. Normally, only Kantus attended such ceremonies, but on this occasion, all attended. After the ceremony, the tribe got back to normal. Hakar, Onwa and Sauvix walked around, watching the various Locust get on with what was left of their lives. They couldn't do much, but it kept them occupied. Hakar stopped as he noticed Brother Markon was approaching him. The Kantus, much to Hakar's surprise, bowed his head in a respectful manner. Normally, Markon would hiss and spit at them for being "Barbarians", though not this time. "I see you and your soldiers continue to live up to your status." Markon pointed out. "Well, we did get some help this time." Hakar replied. "Though I assure you, we did not fight for glory, but for protecting the tribe from the humans and the Lambent." "Lambent?" Markon asked. "Hakar lead us to a Lambent creature that could've been a danger to us." Onwa explained. "Thankfully, we destroyed it before it could find the tribe." "Guided their by a dream, apparently." Sauvix sneered. Markon took a few seconds to take that in, especially the "guided by a dream" comment made by Sauvix. That both baffled and interested him. Markon shook himself to keep their conversation going. "Well, I think I should tell you…" Markon started, but stuttered a bit before continuing. "… I feel we are no longer safe here." he announced. "From the sound of it, the humans came too close to discovering our hiding spot and having us hunted down. That's why I've decided that as soon as possible, we pack up and leave here. Search for a new place to hide ourselves." Hakar, Onwa and Sauvix all nodded in acknowledgement, Sauvix had his usual scepticism on him, but Hakar and Onwa seemed to be more interested in what he was saying. "I also feel it would be best that you accompanied us." Markon added. "The tribe would feel a lot safer if they knew The Elite Locust were their guardians." Sauvix perked up at that comment, before he could point out his argument, Hakar cut him off. "Of course." Hakar said. "We shall continue protecting you all." Onwa nodded in agreement, while Sauvix disappointingly sighed. "Thank you." Markon said, before leaving the group. Hakar also left the scene, that's when Onwa turned to Sauvix. "Not so keen?" He jeered. "No sense in arguing." Sauvix sighed. "Though could we at least go back to our HQ to collect some things? I have a feeling we won't be seeing it again any time soon." "I imagine Hakar will want to do the same." Onwa pointed out. "He'll want to collect the daggers and tags of the fallen. I suppose you'll want your memories and collectables?" "Yes… I shall miss the place." Sauvix said. "Despite being in hostile territory, I was able to study all my items in peace." Meanwhile, Hakar was wandering around, watching as Locust prepped themselves for sleep. He also saw Taus and Zaach looking over Braahk, who kept shrugging off any injuries he had, claiming them to be no bother. Hakar then turned to see Nokada, Ithak and Ara approach him. He was glad to see them, as they had helped his team in the fight and had indeed proven to be strong warriors, possibly even Soul Killer material. "Nokada, is all well?" Hakar asked. "Yes, we're fine, and so are your comrades." She reported. There was a short pause as Hakar turned back to see Braahk now admitting defeat and having his "small" injuries looked at. Hakar chortled slightly, before turning back to Nokada. "It seems as though I owe you my thanks Nokada." Hakar said. "You, Ithak and Ara helped me and my team win the fight today, and, dare I say it, saved our lives." "Save the life of A Soul Killer? That's an accomplishment!" Ithak joked. Nokada gave her a sigh before continuing her talk with Hakar. "It isn't a problem." Nokada replied. "I didn't think I would actually say this, but it was an honour to serve The Elite of The Horde." Hakar didn't get that comment right away, but then realised that The Lost had been against Myrrah, whereas The Soul Killers had been deceived into serving her. Waking them up from Myrrah's lies, that's something else Hakar had to thank them for. "Well, I wish there was a way I could repay you…" Hakar began. Ithak was about to say something, keen to get a reward from The Soul Killers, but Ara gave her a gentle nudge and shook her head. Implying that now wasn't the time. "Er… just glad we could help!" Ithak tittered nervously. Ara nodded happily as well. "You'll be accompanying Markon and the rest of us when we move?" Nokada asked. "Of course." Hakar replied. Nokada gave Hakar a smile, the two then parted company in different directions, as did Ithak and Ara. Ara walked over to the hut of Priest Quaar, she knocked on the makeshift door, which opened slightly. Ara stepped in to see the Priest with Chex. Quaar was sitting down, cradling little Chex with one arm. In his free hand, he had a small ring tied to a piece of string and dangled it above Chex's face, the youngling was utterly fascinated by the ring and kept trying to grab it with his little arms. Quaar stopped for a moment when he looked up and, much to his relief, Ara had returned. "Ah, you've come back safely." Quaar happily noted. "T'Chark protected you all the way!" Chex also noticed Ara, and when he did, he stuck out his little arms towards her and made a small, whinging cry, suggesting he wanted to go back to Ara. Not that he wasn't happy with Quaar's company, just that he was more used to Ara's company. Ara picked up Chex and cradled him herself, though a few seconds later, Chex scaled round Ara and went to his usual place, on her back. His arms just about reaching around her neck. Ara smiled as she looked over her shoulder to see Chex's face. "Quite an energetic one you have there." Quaar laughed. Ara simply smiled and nodded, she didn't really know what to say. All she really could think about was keeping him safe, though she knew Quaar didn't really want to hear her worry. As Ara left, Quaar scratched his chin, The Soul Killers and the lost returning reminded him of something, a thought that arose when T'Chark spoke through Galai. Picking up his staff, Quaar left his shack for a walk. - Sauvix sat on a rock outside his "home" and cast his Scorcher down to one side. He looked up at the darkening sky, as night time was falling. The day had gone by so quickly, it only felt like a few minutes ago that Hakar was ordering everyone into Landown, then fighting off waves of humans. "Trouble?" asked a familiar voice. Startled, Sauvix looked round to see, much to his surprise, Hakar. "I think there's something you want to say to me." Hakar noted. "Normally you keep your thoughts hidden, but I can tell when you want to speak out something on your mind." "There is one thing that I wish to say." Sauvix replied. "Oh? Then speak." Sauvix took a deep breath before he began, he wanted to be straight forward with Hakar, but after what had happened at the Plantation house, Sauvix felt he should deliver his thoughts in a not so aggressive manner. "We nearly lost you know." He started. "Even with the Lost's help, I reckon there was a chance we could've been killed." "Possibly." Hakar replied. Sauvix managed to avoid a "Don't deny it" comment and just carried on. "Think about where we are for a moment." Sauvix explained. "We're hiding in unfamiliar, hostile territory. There's no more Nexus or hollow to retreat to, no hopes of reinforcements or anything like that, it's just us now. However, I don't wish for any of us to be put at risk now. We may have been able to strike whenever we wanted back in the old days, but things have changed and the tables have turned." "What is it you wish?" Hakar asked. "Just… let's not have anymore risky fights with the enemy." Sauvix pleaded. "We're outnumbered and quite possibly outgunned. I feel we should fight only out of necessity." Hakar agreed, though he didn't show it right away. He stalled with a fake "thinking" look, but he knew Sauvix was right. While Hakar may have thought they still couldn't be defeated, he guessed that the other Soul Killers were thinking the same as Sauvix. "Alright, I agree." Hakar announced. "From now on, we fight only in self defence." Sauvix looked at Hakar, then uttered words he never thought he'd say. "Thank you." Sauvix went back inside his shack, while Hakar just stood there. He let out a small growl, his primal side frustrated that he couldn't fight just for the sake of killing humans, but Hakar decided it was time to take Sauvix's advice. Unknown to him that while he was talking to Sauvix, Priest Quaar was watching him for behind a shack. Trying to figure something out about Hakar. Quaar stopped when he suddenly saw Markon appear behind him. "Oh!" Quaar said, startled. "All well?" "Yes High Priest." Markon stated. "How is the Priestess Galai?" Quaar asked. "Sleeping peacefully, though what interested me was that she started talking in her sleep, rather than just uttering the odd thing when the Lost brought her to us." Markon reported. "She talked about a friend she made in Prison, I think she called him… Myzfit?" "Yes… yes I've heard that name before." Quaar replied. Markon then noted that Quaar was still looking at Hakar with the deepest concentration, Markon didn't mean to interrupt the Priest, but he was curious. "Something troubling you?" Markon asked. "It's the Soul Killer Hakar." Quaar explained. "I can sense that he has… a connection with T'Chark." "Really?" Markon gasped. "Yes, T'Chark could sense it as well, when she spoke through Galai." Quaar added. "I could tell she had sensed something before we lost contact." "So… what do you wish to do?" "It's nothing serious, but I wish for us to keep a close eye on Hakar… he has a connection with The Goddess… I can feel it!" - Back at the ruins of The Plantation House, rot flies were already feeding on the dead Cogs and Locust, though they defiantly had more interest in the Cog soldiers. Biting off pieces of flesh and laying their eggs within the dead skin. Some Cog Soldiers already had maggots crawling out of open wounds and nibbling on the flesh of the dead. All seemed quiet, as only the dead remained. Until, the rot flies were spooked by the feeling of motion, something lifted itself up off the ground and sent them flying away in retreat. Shaking off the dirt and blood from the human bodies, Rampage attempted to stand up, but fell back down onto his backside. He felt a tremendous pain in the side of his neck. He felt it and then looked at his hand, seeing the Imulsion leaking in-between his large, twisted fingers. The pain he felt was that of a bite mark. The treacherous Regenerator, it had "drank" some of Rampage and Slicer's Imulsion to make itself stronger, though not enough to completely deplete the Imulsion that ran through their bodies. They still lived, but were weakened. "Scum…" Was all Rampage could snarl. Next, a furious Slicer hopped off the ground and angrily yanked his helmet off, before punting it into the remains of the trees around the house. "What happened?" Rampage asked rhetorically. "Bah! Ze Soul Killers escaped us again!" Slicer roared. "And ve vere humiliated by zhat treacherous Regenerator!" Rampage looked around at the scene, joining in with Slicer's frustration at being denied a chance to kill The Soul Killers. "Now Ze Overseers vill send zheir emissaries to fight zhem!" Slicer barked. "Ve vere so close!" "NO!" Rampage bellowed. "I will not be denied our glorious victory!" "Too late." Slicer hissed. "Vhen ze Overseers are ready to strike zis surface vorld, Scourge vill be ze one zhey pass down ze honour to." Rampage drew his face closer to Slicer, surprisingly scaring the Lambent warrior. "Scourge and his emissaries may fight against the pathetic scum known as the humans, but you and I shall not be denied the honour of destroying the Soul Killers." Rampage then picked up the head of a human and squeezed it tightly in his fist. The Warrior snarled as he crushed the head, fragments of skull and brain splattering inside his clenched fist. "Mark my words Slicer, they shall not survive our ascension… but their blood shall be on OUR hands!"


End file.
